Tottenham boss Ange Postecoglou held his press conference after the 1-0 Carabao Cup semi-final first leg win against Liverpool on Wednesday and we've got the full transcript with every word he said.

Postecoglou gave new goalkeeper Antonin Kinsky his debut but had Rodrigo Bentancur stretchered off just six minutes into the game after he hit the ground following a low missed header. Spurs thought they had won the game on 76 minutes when Dominic Solanke slotted in from Pedro Porro's curling pass but after a VAR check it was deemed offside with Stuart Atwell explaining it on the pitch and heard over the speakers as part of a new trial.

Tottenham did get the winner on the day though and it was Lucas Bergvall's first goal for Spurs. It came after a great run from Solanke before he turned and teed up the 18-year-old Swede who fired home into the bottom left corner. There was some controversy after the teenager missed out on a second yellow card not long before.

READ MORE: What Lucas Bergvall said to Virgil van Dijk as Liverpool star rages at Stuart Attwell

READ MORE: Tottenham player ratings vs Liverpool - Bergvall, Dragusin, Gray, Spence and Kinsky brilliant

Our Spurs correspondent Alasdair Gold was among those putting the questions to Postecoglou after the match. Scroll down for his full transcript from the press conference at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.

You must be very proud after that?

Yeah very proud. Again, we had to deal with some adversity tonight. We started the game really well I thought. Then obviously we lose Rodrigo, and in the way it happened, it was quite distressing to see a team-mate go down in that manner. Again, we had to compose ourselves and deal with that and re-organise. Super proud of the players. I have been all along. It hasn't been through the want of trying that our results haven't been as good, it's certainly not been on them, it's just that we haven't been able to get the consistency to get the results that we need. Just proud that they feel good tonight, that they get the rewards of their hard work. Our fans as well, we've put them through a tough time, I thought they were outstanding tonight. We haven't achieved anything, but I think just that feeling of having a victory against a top opponent in a big game, really pleased for everyone.

What did you make of Lucas Bergvall today?

Lucas was brilliant. Like I said, I haven't lost sight of the fact that we've got two 18-year-olds, one who's playing at centre back, it's not even his position. I just don't think people really understand the level of performance that these young guys are giving us at the moment. We had a goalkeeper on debut. Djed's playing left-back, unbelievably well. Lucas is just growing all the time. He's got that ability as a footballer to create space for himself. He's got the quality, but he works awfully hard for the team as well. Like I said, we've been dealing with some adversity for sure, but we've had some growth in that, I've got no doubt about that. That's been masked by poor results and poor form for sure. I've got no doubt that when we get our players back, the foundations are really strong, with a group of players we can really grow with."

What happened to Rodrigo Bentancur?

I don't want to speculate because I don't really know either. All I know is he was conscious when he came off. Obviously it was some sort of head injury, but he was conscious when he was coming off the field. And he's been taken to the hospital for observation. But I'm not really clear on how it happened."

Will you follow up on what happened?

Again mate, it's not my area. Unless I get a doctor out here, I'm not going to speculate because it's just not fair on people around him. But it was a head injury. And there was concern from players out there so obviously there was something going on.

What did you make of Antonin Kinsky on his debut?

Brilliant. Fantastic. I got the sense when I spoke to him before we signed him that he had a bit about him in terms of assuredness that probably belied his years. I threw him a mammoth task today to play against the best team arguably in the world at the moment, in a big game, a semi-final. He just handled it awfully well. Credit to Johan and his team, they were really big on him as a footballer who's going to fit our style and work really hard to make it happen now. And you can see why. He's an outstanding footballer.

What did you make of whether Bergvall should have got a second yellow card?

I spoke about it after the game last time, I think my comments were mis-interpreted. I didn't criticise the referee or the decision. I didn't think the decision was right about the handball. But I said, it's very hard at the moment, it's very confusing, to understand certain elements of the game. Now we've been told consistently in the last few weeks, because I've been screaming about it from the sidelines, because a lot of teams have got away with a lot of fouls with us, without bookings, because the referee plays advantage. We've been told consistently that if we play advantage, as long as it's not a cynical foul, then the player does not get cautioned. So that's been relayed to us on a weekly basis. Because we feel like that's been happening. That's one of the things I was bemoaning last weekend. There's certain players who were repeatedly fouling, we were getting advantage, but no bookings. That's what I'm talking about.

I'm really surprised at how, what's the word I'm looking for, how people in this country are so easily letting the game change so much so quickly. It's changed more since VAR has come in since I've been involved than in the past 50 years. We never used to debate offsides, we never used to debate handballs, we never used to debate holding in the box, we never used to debate so many things, and it seems like...

I mean, did everyone really love the announcement today? Did that give you a real buzz about, you know, I mean, seriously, but now I'm, and again, look, I understand, my understanding of it is, this is what the people want. That's what I keep getting told.

I understand that and I understand that, you know, we're not going to....VAR is going to be there, technology's gonna be a part of life, but it's like my wife and our kids. We know technology but she limits screen time. Why? You know, slow things down, I think.

We've just got to be careful about constantly why do we want to change the game so much, and I know I'm going to be the old bloke in the stands that keep shouting 'boo' every time and I'll be the only one, but I just thought people would be a little bit more protective about the sanctity of the game.

That's what I was talking about. I wasn't criticising referees, I wasn't. I've never criticised, I didn't think the decision was right, but it's just the way the game, I think there's a lot of confusion at the moment. That's my belief that the game is changing on the basis of technology, and I'm saying why isn't anyone speaking up about it? Especially in this country who, for all intents and purposes, you feel, you guys think you're custodians of the game, you've got a song that says 'it's coming home', this is your game, and yet it takes an Aussie from the other side of the world to be the one that's most conservative about changes.

At the minute are those decisions like a lottery because it feels like on one day something might be give but another not?

So my comments about 'a fair and even playing ground'' that's what they're about. So today it advantaged us, yeah? I wasn't saying that there was a vendetta against me or Tottenham when I spoke last week. That's not what my comments were about. I could be on a lone crusade here, but I'm happy to do that.

I'm happy to just be the lone voice of saying 'just leave the game alone for a bit'. Even extra time now, you know, minutes added later on, minutes added on here and there there, minutes, we never used to talk about these things before. Yet now everything is changing, so that was my [point]. So today, I can see why Arne would be very disappointed, if that was me, I'd be disappointed as well, but apparently they're the rules.

You look to be a little more emotional on the sidelines during this period, are you conscious of just letting your emotions out a little bit more?

Well, yeah, I mean it's been an emotional time, mate, you know, it's like I keep saying I am a human being, you know, like all of us, you know, we're in these roles of managers and we're supposed to, you know, I understand we've got positions of responsibility, but we're still human beings in the core, and we react to things.

I don't like the fact that people who are working really hard for this club, on and off the field, have not had that feeling of victory. I don't feel great about our supporters not having that feeling of victory. It weighs heavily on me, mate. It's my responsibility. So yeah, you know, I'm a little bit more emotional than I usually am, but I guess that also probably means I do care and I think that's still important.

Just a quick one on Archie Gray and what's he managing to do as an 18-year-old every three days and the relationship he's building with Radu Dragusin?

And in a position he's never played mate, you know, he's never played. An 18-year-old. Name me another Premier League team that's got two 18-year-olds and one playing out of position consistently. I'm so happy they're at our football club and you know, in two or three years' time, I just pray to God I'm the beneficiary of their talent, mate, because if somebody else is getting it, I won't be happy.

Was there any change in your sort of overall approach from the Liverpool game in the league here, it felt a bit more pragmatic?

No, you can, you know, like, you can put it that way, when people said my midfield set up was a little bit more conservative today, that's because I only had three midfielders to choose from. The others weren't available, so we certainly went about it the same way.

Look, Liverpool don't allow you to dominate the game the way other teams do, and Ali said it there, our players every three days are playing a game of football, mate, without rest and you saw Liverpool at the end, they put on some significant talent, some really good footballers, some top footballers. I couldn't do the same, and yet the guys who are out there are consistently doing it, so maybe we're not as dominant as we want it to be, but there's good reason, not through the lack of trying or different intent in terms of how we went about it.

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