As the final whistle blew at the PreZero Arena in the little German town of Sinsheim, Archie Gray and Lucas Bergvall both collapsed to the ground at different ends of the pitch.

Bergvall had just sprinted in the 94th minute to close down the Hoffenheim goalkeeper at one end and in the other half Gray was throwing himself into battles on the edge of the Spurs box, down his left flank, to keep the hosts at bay as they frantically tried to find a last-gasp leveller.

So when the two 18-year-olds heard that whistle blow, their bodies knew it was finally time to stop and they certainly did, collapsing on to their backs on the turf. From the outside they probably looked like the defeated team, but rather it was a mixture of relief and exhaustion.

Bergvall had won eight of his 10 ground duels during the match and one of his two in the air, while making three successful tackles of the five he went in for. The young Swede is no luxury player, he's being quickly hardened by the circumstances into a Spurs warrior with the quality to back up his rapidly-growing physical play.

One Hoffenheim player tried to help Gray to his feet but the teen politely declined and explained that he needed longer on the grass. The former Leeds man was holding the back of one leg.

Ange Postecoglou explained the following morning: "He got a knock towards the end of the game on his knee. He's just exhausted, mate. I'm sure he'll be back in this morning doing everything right like he does.

"The players are trying to work as hard as they can between games to recover and make sure they're ready to go. Nothing significant came from last night apart from fatigue, nothing else."

That's great news for Postecoglou because he simply cannot afford to lose his multi-purpose teenager. Gray is proving to be the Australian's Swiss Army Knife for now even if he can eventually become so much more.

When Gray finally did rise to his feet on Thursday night, Rodrigo Bentancur came over and put his hands on both sides of the teenager's head and said something that seemed rather heartfelt to the youngster who had battled as he had on the pitch.

James Maddison then arrived and seemed to say similar. The vice-captain would later go over to Gray and Bergvall in the changing room and tell them not to underestimate what they are doing week in, week out at their age.

"We have got two 18-year-olds in Archie Gray and Lucas Bergvall just churning out 90 minutes after 90 minutes, because of the injury situation we’re in, which I don’t want to keep blabbing on about but it is real at the minute, it is happening, we do have about 11 fit senior players," he told TNT Sports.

“And they are being asked to do so much. In the end there, Lucas chasing down the keeper in the 93rd minute when he is dead on his feet, Archie winning duels in the bottom corner, stopping crosses coming in.

“We’re asking so much of them. I said to them both in there I’m just really proud of them. We're asking so much and I think if the gaffer had it perfectly he would have probably embedded them in a bit slower because of their age but this is all brilliant experience for them and I'm really proud of them."

This Tottenham team was dead on its feet with an absurd squad situation that meant they finished the game with five teenagers on the pitch, with two 17 year-olds and one making his debut, those two 18-year-olds and a 19-year-old in Will Lankshear.

Behind them was a goalkeeper in Brandon Austin, who was making only his second start for the club and his European debut, yet they made it through.

The performance was understandably uneven. While fresher in the first period, Spurs should have swept Hoffenheim aside in a half full of chances and it could have been a big scoreline at the interval rather than the 2-0 it was.

In the second half, the expected tiredness arrived and Postecoglou had no choice but to take some players off to protect them from injury but also leave a few with some remnants of energy for Sunday's Premier League match against a Leicester side that will have had eight days to recover from their home defeat to Fulham.

Spurs instead landed back in the UK at 2am on Friday morning and will have just two days to find the energy to go again.

In the second half in Germany, they had to just dig in and try to absorb whatever their hosts threw at them with the crowd getting behind them. They gave up possession with 44% of it and 100 less passes than Hoffenheim's 542.

The home side attempted shots from everywhere, 22 of them, but only five were on target - the same amount as Spurs. The difference was the visitors scored three of theirs compared to Hoffenheim's two.

It wasn't pretty but it was a win that Tottenham desperately needed and it continued their recent run of victories in the cup competitions.

"Just outstanding by the players, full credit to them," Postecoglou told football.london. "Winning away in Europe is always difficult irrespective of the situation you're in, but with the situation we’re in, just a really unbelievable effort.

"Great leadership by the experienced players. We really needed them to stand up today. I thought Madders, Sonny, Rodrigo and Benny were outstanding.

"In the first half I thought we played really well. We created some really good opportunities for ourselves and maybe could've had one or two more. Second half we looked a little bit fatigued and had to hold on a little bit and defend a lot more, which we did okay on the most part.

"When they scored the game tightened up but it was a great finish by Sonny to give us that extra buffer. Yeah we finished with five teenagers, Brandon’s first game in Europe and second game overall. I think you take European victories for granted, but it was a really unbelievable effort and a really strong-willed group of players today and credit to them."

It was a night when Postecoglou really needed his senior players to step up and, like the second-half attempt to pull back the game at Everton, it was another occasion that shows that, importantly, he still has the dressing room behind him.

James Maddison started in top gear even if he felt that in the second half. His run, touch and finish for Tottenham's third minute goal was right out of the top drawer after he spotted Pedro Porro looking for a ball over the top.

"It's a run I like to make. You've got to know your players as well," the midfielder said. "I know Pedro is a very good long passer of the ball and he often looks for that so I know that if I could get my timing right, they had a fairly high line early in the game and trying to be aggressive.

"So I thought if I could time my run well enough and then hopefully have the quality to finish it off and tonight I did. You don't always have it but tonight the touch was alright and the finish was half-decent, so I managed to get that opening goal."

Maddison then turned provider for Son with a ball that was helped into his path by a defender and then the captain's shot took another deflection and bounced into the ground and over the helpless goalkeeper.

Son's next goal in the second half not only came just when Tottenham needed it but was a clinical effort in keeping with what we've been used to from the South Korean over the years as the former Premier League Golden Boot winner took Mikey Moore's pass into his path, executed a stepover and then fired the ball low inside the right-hand post.

It wasn't just Maddison and Son though as the returning Rodrigo Bentancur and Ben Davies, starting back-to-back matches after more than six weeks out, battled away behind them.

The duo both succeeded in more defensive actions than anyone else on the pitch. Davies managed 17 clearances, six headed ones, four ball recoveries, four interceptions and two blocks.

The Welshman's 17 clearances were more than any player has managed in a single Europa League match this season. He won all three of his aerial duels on the night.

Bentancur managed a whopping 13 ball recoveries, seven clearances, three headed ones and four interceptions. The Uruguayan won three of his four ground duels and got an important 95 minutes into his legs.

Gray and Radu Dragusin also managed another 23 defensive actions between them. None of those four players were dribbled past at any point on the night either.

Bentancur, Dragusin and Dejan Kulusevski were also all on two yellow cards for the competition with a third meaning they would be ruled out of the final game of the league stage but they all showed the required maturity to avoid a suspension when it would have really hurt Spurs.

"We have to [step up], we have to keep going," said Maddison when asked about him and Son making the difference. "Me and Sonny are two leaders more in the way we play, we're not necessarily the biggest shouters. We're different kinds of leaders.

"I've always been one who has tried to have my presence on the pitch with my quality and dictating the game and we did that tonight.

"We scored three brilliant goals. Like I said about the young lads, you need your experienced players as well. Me and Sonny are obviously delighted to be able to chip in with the goals and assists and help us win tonight in this tough moment because we needed that."

He added: "I mean Ben Davies. You talk about leaders. Ben Davies and Rodrigo tonight. Rodrigo got every single second ball. It will go unnoticed, it won't make the newspaper headlines.

"Me and Sonny will probably get the headlines just because we scored as that's how it works in football, but Rodrigo and Ben winning the duels, winning the headers at the end and leading us, even when me and Sonny had gone off, it's just outstanding and it was a great team effort."

Son put in a real captain's shift in what was his 436th appearance for the club, taking him into the top 10 at Spurs for games played. In one moment in the first half he tracked back diagonally across most of the pitch to help cover for Porro when he was caught up the turf.

The skipper celebrated his second goal by putting his finger to his lips in the classic 'shush' pose. Whether it was to the noisy home crowd who had been trying to get their team going after their first goal back or whether it was aimed at some of the travelling Tottenham fans in the corner who might have been among those who fired some unpleasant abuse his way after the Everton defeat is unclear.

Postecoglou was delighted with his captain and his experienced players.

"I thought he really stood up today. We needed him to," said the Spurs head coach. "Him, Madders, Rodri, Benny, a lot of our other players, it’s not just Lucas, Archie, Radu and our young players.

"We also have to factor into it that Richy is just coming back from injury. There is a whole range of things we are dealing with out there. It can be easy, particularly away in Europe, to get swept away.

"I thought Sonny led from the front tonight with his football but also with his general actions and most importantly the goals. Look, we are all copping stick at the moment. That is the nature of the beast. What we do, as footballers and managers, we are all in the firing line at the moment. Whether it is warranted or not, you have to stand up and reply to it in the proper way. I thought he did that tonight."

On Maddison, Postecoglou added: "You need to respond in the right manner and I thought Madders was outstanding tonight. These players are exhausted, mate. They are professional footballers who are just 24/7 trying to recover right now. All of them. They are giving everything.

"I know somebody said yesterday to me, that I could not believe, that maybe they are prioritising one game over another. These guys are giving everything they can. It should not be dismissed that I had five teenagers [on the pitch].

"We are a Premier League outfit playing in an away game in Europe and we had five teenagers out there. It is pretty much unheard of in an important game, not a dead rubber. And that goes to show the load these guys are willing to take on themselves, without making excuses.

"I could not speak highly enough of the players carrying us through. They will get some help hopefully soon with some players coming back. We are in a real good position in Europe. Get to the knockout rounds home and away, get our players back and we will back ourselves against anyone. The fact that these guys have got us to this position - Madders and all the players that have carried us through - credit to them."

After the game, the Tottenham players gathered around Dejan Kulusevski as he got recovery treatment on a table in the dressing room for a team photo.

Other clubs' fans will no doubt mock the image but this was not about celebrating like they had won a cup final, this was an overworked, drained group of players enjoying a moment when they finally got a reward for their remarkable efforts.

"The win will do so much," said Maddison. "We've had a tough run of results. It's tough when you lose a couple in a row and then maybe you draw and then lose. Momentum is such a big thing in football, especially in the Premier League and Europe as well.

"Tonight was always going to be a tough game. The manager always says to us how hard it is to win away in Europe. He always says look at the result and last night in the Champions League, in all the fixtures only one team won away. Winning away at any point in Europe is massive.

"Also to score three goals, although we never really have a problem scoring goals. We're normally quite good at that. I was just really proud of the guys today and how we dug in."

It was also a night for the relatively new boys. In goal, Brandon Austin confirmed his spot in what will be a strong trio of goalkeepers going forward into next season and beyond with long contracts.

The 26-year-old followed up his impressive debut against Newcastle with another solid display between the sticks on his European bow. That Austin has conceded four goals in those two games has had little to do with his performances, although he might feel he got caught in no man's land for the hosts' second goal, albeit from a wickedly curling cross.

Austin made an important early save down low from Tom Bischof and was mostly commanding from set pieces.

He was also involved in a strange penalty incident which needed VAR to intervene at the last possible moment to point out to the referee that the Spurs goalkeeper had got a hand to the ball during an aerial collision with Max Moerstedt.

It brought an amusing exchange when the referee put his hand out to ask for the ball to play a drop ball, and the goalkeeper shook his hand, thinking he was apologising for the wrongly-awarded spot kick and yellow card.

"Even when we signed Toni [Kinsky], in terms of European football we knew we still need Fraser Forster and Brandon. Brandon did really well in the game he played and he's trained really strongly since," said Postecoglou.

"We knew this game would be a bit of a target for him and Fraser had an illness that knocked him back a bit and set him back a bit, but I just felt on the back of his performance in the league game that Brandon deserved a crack at it and I thought he did well tonight.

"You can’t underestimate European football away from home, especially the first game, with a pretty relatively inexperienced team in front of him and I thought he handled it really well and we’ll need him again next week."

It was a show of faith in Austin. Now he is a tried and tested goalkeeper and he knows he will play against Elfsborg.

There was also a big moment for the academy and Callum Olusesi, as the 17-year-old took to the pitch with Mikey Moore and realised a dream the pair have always held of one day playing for Tottenham together.

"Congrats brother, something we’ve dreamed of and spoke about for years playing together for this club. Proud of you mate," tweeted Moore after a game in which he had made it back-to-back assists at just 17.

Olusesi had started and played 80 minutes as Spurs U18s overcame a scare to win at Grimsby in extra-time in the FA Youth Cup on Monday night. Now here he was with a tidy cameo on his debut for the first team three days later.

"It felt amazing. I've been working for this for all these years and the opportunity came today and I'm just grateful for it," the teenager said in his club interview. "We had a big win with the U18s, it was a really tough game in being 3-1 up and they fought back but the boys pushed through.

"Then I've ended up here and the opportunity's come to make my debut, go on the pitch and just try my best. It's surreal going from the U18s to the first team within a couple of days."

He added: "It's tough when you first come up, but you've just got to work hard and get used to it and the tempo. All the boys are really good, they support you, show faith and they really push you in training."

On that moment of stepping on to the pitch with his friend Moore, Olusesi said: "We've been together since we were like five-years-old, even before we were at Spurs. It's a dream come true for both of us and hopefully there's many more to come.

"It was really intense because it was only 3-2. We had to dig deep and just get the win. Now I need to just keep working hard in training and take any opportunity that comes and grab it with both hands."

Postecoglou was delighted for the youngster to get his moment.

"We’ve had quite a few young boys training with the group and obviously with the situation we’re in, it’s allowed them to understand what it takes to even train at this level and Callum’s been great," he said.

"He’s obviously a very talented young player and he’s one of the ones we’ve got high hopes for. He got a taste of it last night, which is great for him and for his family. Hopefully it gives him encouragement, but he’s still got a long way to go in terms of becoming part of the first-team.

"I guess in all these scenarios you hope the experiences they gain fuels it even further although he’s a very motivated young player and we’ve got high hopes for him."

Now Spurs must look forward again to another game with the same set of players. Having a focal point in Richarlison from the start was a big plus on Thursday night even if the Brazilian was so tired he was gasping for air early in the second half when he came off.

His fitness will improve if he can steer clear of injuries and he will become sharper but just his hold-up play and pressing up front is exactly what Tottenham need right now with Dominic Solanke out for six weeks.

"{Richy is] as fit as he could possibly be," said Postecoglou. "We are obviously managing his minutes at the moment. He got through it last night. He hasn’t played for a long time so he is not going to be his sharpest. We have still got to manage that. The reality is, unless something changes, he has to play."

On Richarlison taking advantage of Solanke being out, the Spurs boss said: "I don’t think Richy cares about Dom Solanke or anybody else. When Richy is playing he is Brazil’s No 9. When he played for us last year he was scoring goals. I don’t think Richy was ever worried.

"I think he will welcome Dom coming back. Both of them playing together could be a force for us. I don’t think that factors into it. Richy is just happy he is physically in good shape and able to start contributing and a lot of the injured guys, their biggest probably frustration is that they can’t help the team. I know that is his main driver right now."

The cavalry is coming back gradually. Cristian Romero and Micky van de Ven are around a week away from returning to action, while Destiny Udogie posted on social media this week that he is 70% towards being ready to come back.

French media are also claiming Wilson Odobert could be back on the training pitches as soon as early next month but may have to wait until March to participate in matches as Spurs take it cautiously with the young winger.

Djed Spence is a doubt for Sunday just when Postecoglou needed his energy as are Pape Matar Sarr and Yves Bissouma when he needed midfield freshness. Kinsky will return and Sergio Reguilon could get a rare start if the head coach feels he needs some fresh legs in the backline.

"It's relentless and the beauty of having a big squad is being able to rotate and we haven't got that luxury at the minute," said Maddison. "So it'll be the same faces out there again, the same young lads making up the bench, but it's the situation we're in.

"I'm almost bored of blabbing on about it myself but it is the situation and we realise that so we'll try to recover, do everything we can for our bodies and try to be at a good level for Sunday."

Postecoglou, in his 13th press conference in 20 days, once again reiterated the need for transfers in these final days of the window.

When asked whether he needs just anyone to come in through the door to improve squad depth at this point or someone that will make a bigger impact, the Australian said on Friday: "It just depends. It depends on the player, it depends on how they fit into what we do.

"It’s not just about bringing in another body, but yeah, there is still no doubt we need to help these players because we’ve still got some significant games in the next two or three weeks before we get players back."

With the European places in the knockout rounds to be decided next week that in itself could create a flurry of movement in the transfer market as clubs react in different ways to what the rest of the season then holds for them.

"Yeah, potentially. I mean I really think that has been a factor because if you look at the way European competitions are stacked up, that would be done and dusted by now and people would know if they are in the Champions League or if they are in the Europa League and adjusted their sights," he said.

"Maybe after last night and I’ve had a close look at the three-page table, thankfully we’re on the first so I don’t need to go beyond that, but if there are any significant clubs in there and out of the competition, it may make things happen a little bit quicker."

Postecoglou and his squad still need help. He ruled out the return from loan of Manor Solomon or Bryan Gil with a simple 'no' and there are some suggestions that there is no active recall clause for the in-form Solomon anyway.

It is time for the club to step up for Postecoglou. The players are behind him and there is no doubting the ridiculous circumstances he is operating within, even if it's easier to forget the 14 unavailable players and the clear fatigue in the remaining ones than it is to constantly repeat it.

Postecoglou was asked how he has got through tough periods over the decades as a coach to emerge out the other side.

"I've been doing this for a long time now and what’s important is that you have a really strong belief in what you’re doing and not get influenced by noise and not get influenced by what the current mood is in terms of people's assessment of where you’re at," he said.

"For me that’s always been the most important thing. I firmly believe in what we’re doing, I firmly believe that we're on the right road. Whether others agree with that is irrelevant to me. It doesn't make any decision. It doesn't affect my decision-making or my interaction with the people at the club and particularly the players and staff.

"They're my focus and they're who I need to make sure that they have the belief. If they still have the belief then I know we can achieve success. So, it's not easy to be fair because there’s a lot of noise. In the Premier League there’s the most noise so you have to deal with that but in the end it is just noise."

There's always noise around Tottenham Hotspur but this week in particular it needs to finally be the footsteps of the advancing cavalry to help Postecoglou and his shattered players.

Listen to the latest episode of Gold & Guest Talk Tottenham by clicking here f or in-depth Spurs chat on your preferred podcast platform.

Want breaking and top Tottenham stories sent straight to you? Join our Spurs WhatsApp community by clicking this link. If you're curious you can check out our privacy policy here.