Gallagher Keeps Spurs Unbeaten in Behind-Closed-Doors Test
Tottenham’s preseason rhythm stayed intact on Saturday, even if the winning streak did not. In a shortened, 70‑minute workout against Getafe at the club’s training ground, Conor Gallagher’s sharp finish earned a 1-1 draw and kept Roberto De Zerbi’s side unbeaten this summer.
This was no glossy stadium occasion. Thirty-five minutes each way, no crowd, just the thud of tackles and the constant drone of coaching instructions cutting through the north London air. It still felt serious.
De Zerbi used it to push his new era a step further. Sandro Tonali, Jan Paul van Hecke and Andy Robertson all started, while Archie Gray, still a teenager but already trusted, took the armband. It was a quiet but pointed statement about where this project is heading.
Tottenham controlled long spells of the first half without landing the punch their possession promised. Their best moment came right on the whistle: Robertson, already bedding in on set pieces, whipped in a free-kick that Ben Davies met cleanly. The header had direction but not quite the power to break the deadlock.
Getafe, seventh in LaLiga last season, were patient and organised, happy to sit in and wait for mistakes. For a while, they barely laid a glove on Antonín Kinsky.
That changed after the break.
Mikey Moore, one of the bright academy sparks, stretched in vain for a cross just after half-time, a yard away from the goal that would have lit up his afternoon. Soon after, Richarlison rose from a set-piece and almost punished David Soria, the Getafe goalkeeper scrambling to keep the header out.
Tottenham looked on top. Then Getafe struck.
On 55 minutes, Alberto Risco took charge. A slick one-two sliced through the Spurs back line and Risco finished past Kinsky with conviction. One chance, one goal, and a reminder that control without ruthlessness is always fragile.
The response was immediate.
Ten minutes after falling behind, Spurs found their equaliser. The ball was worked into Richarlison’s feet in the 60th minute, defenders drawn towards him, and in that split second Gallagher read the moment better than anyone. He arrived, swept his finish home, and levelled the match with the kind of crisp, first-time strike that managers remember when they pick opening-day teams.
The tempo lifted. Getafe dug in, Tottenham chased the winner. Again Richarlison threatened in the air, another header forcing Soria into action in the closing stages. The goalkeeper stood firm and the Spanish side left with a draw from an intense, condensed contest that never quite felt like a friendly.
Four wins and now this draw keep Spurs’ preseason record clean. More important for De Zerbi, though, was the sight of new signings folding into his structure, a young captain leading the side, and Gallagher and Richarlison sharpening their edge in front of goal.
The results will soon stop being footnotes. On this evidence, Tottenham intend to be ready when the real thing starts.
