Antonin Kinsky spotted in Tottenham mess after incident v Liverpool

Tottenham Hotspur survived a momentary scare after a "messy" blunder from Antonin Kinsky against Liverpool, Alan Smith has said.

Tottenham had been defending their 1-0 aggregate lead from the Lucas Bergvall goal in the first leg of the Carabao Cup semi-final, with the winner facing Newcastle United at Wembley in the final.

Cody Gakpo's finish made it level on aggregate with 11 minutes until the half-time interval, as Liverpool dominated early proceedings.

Tottenham survive Antonin Kinsky scare

Kinsky fumbled a cross from the right-hand side that had arrived into the Spurs penalty area, as Ben Davies - in attempting to clear - took a cut to the head and had to be patched up.

Tottenham, as expected, had been soaking up the early pressure and combating possession from Liverpool, but no clear-cut chances had been created in the opening stages.

A debut for Kinsky came in the first leg as he was thrown in at the deep end by Ange Postecoglou, who had been suffering from the absences of both Guglielmo Vicario and Fraser Forster.

The Czech had performed exceptionally well on the night in North London, after joining from Slavia Prague in early January.

Speaking live on Sky Sports (6 February, 20:13), Smith criticised the stopper at Anfield, though.

"It was all a bit messy, wasn't it, from Spurs," he said

"Couldn't get the initial clearance and then Kinsky comes and makes a mess of it, fumbling.

"He should be collecting that, and Ben Davies gets a whack for his troubles."

Carabao Cup run so far

Tottenham are desperate for a trophy for a variety of reasons.

The Lilywhites have not only failed to lift silverware since 2008 - notably also the Carabao Cup following a scintillating journey - but have to find a way of patching up some of the awful feeling from the league this season.

Daniel Levy remains unpopular with the Spurs faithful and Postecoglou divides opinion, so a cup would reunite the supporters in a way that hasn't been seen for 17 years.

Along the way to this finely poised two-legged semi-final, Tottenham overcame Coventry City via late drama, before knocking out both Manchester clubs in memorable ties.

Should they go all the way - especially by finishing off against a Newcastle United side arguably even more desperate for an addition to their cabinet - it would be every bit as hard-fought as 2008 and more.