For Ange Postecoglou and Daniel Levy, the relief was palpable. On the same day that Tottenham fans had gathered to voice displeasure at their chairman, a first‑half goal from James Maddison ensured it was Manchester United who ended the battle of the Premier League’s crisis clubs with a 12th league defeat of the campaign. Rarely can a match between two sides that started the day in 14th and 15th positions in the table have garnered so much attention. But while Postecoglou was at last able to call on some experience off the bench to see out this vital victory as his side moved up to the dizzy heights of 12th, by contrast United had to rely on the ageing Casemiro and a bench full of teenagers in a match that reflected the situation Ruben Amorim has inherited. Yet had Alejandro Garnacho remembered to pack his shooting boots then this could have been a very different story, with Guglielmo Vicario producing a stunning save on his return from injury to keep Spurs ahead in the second half. It was a measure of how disaffection has grown in this part of north London that only around 300 fans turned out for their last protest before the 6-3 home thrashing against Liverpool in December when Postecoglou’s side were 10th in the Premier League. But with Spurs having crashed out of both domestic cup competitions in their last two games and finding themselves 10 points adrift of the top half before kick‑off, feelings were clearly running high among the more than 1,000 who joined the peaceful march from Lordship Lane to the ground as they vented their feelings towards the Tottenham chairman. Winning football matches can change everything, of course, and there were significantly fewer Spurs fans who stayed behind for the planned sit-in protest afterwards. In a campaign that has been severely undermined by injuries, the return of Vicario and Maddison to the starting lineup and Destiny Udogie, Brennan Johnson and Wilson Odobert on the bench proved to be the difference here in the end as a nervy Spurs clung on to their win. “It makes such a difference to us,” Postecoglou said. “It’s given everyone a boost.” The Italian goalkeeper had not featured since Spurs’ 4-0 rout of Manchester City in November and was called into action after 10 minutes to thwart Rasmus Højlund – one of only nine touches the striker managed in the first half – and then Garnacho as United made a promising start. Yet with Kobbie Mainoo and Manuel Ugarte missing and Amad Diallo having sustained what is likely to be a season-ending injury, Amorim was forced to hand Casemiro his first start since 30 December and named a substitutes bench with eight players aged 19 or under who had yet to even make a first-team appearance, including Darren Fletcher’s son, Jack. The United manager insisted last week that he and his squad must take some of the blame for the next round of redundancies that are expected at Old Trafford under the Sir Jim Ratcliffe regime and the opening goal of the game was a good example of how playing standards have been allowed to slip. Lucas Bergvall was afforded too much space to unleash his shot from the edge of the area but Matthijs de Ligt was statuesque as Maddison reacted first to gobble up the rebound. Amorim was furious when Garnacho failed to take a golden opportunity to equalise when he was set up by Bruno Fernandes although United had at least showed some attacking intent. Bergvall was clearly enjoying his duel with the pedestrian Casemiro in midfield as Tottenham dominated possession, with Mathys Tel drawing a smart save from Onana at his near post before the Brazilian was booked for bringing down Son Heung-min. The hosts returned for the second half with renewed vigour and could have doubled their lead when Djed Spence left Noussair Mazraoui for dead but Tel could not turn his cross into the net. United’s ploy of trying to hit Spurs on the break by playing long balls over their high defensive line almost paid dividends when Garnacho raced through on goal but could only shoot straight at Vicario. It needed a much better save to deny the Argentina forward when Spurs failed to clear their lines, with Vicario somehow repelling his fierce left‑foot effort at his near post. The on-loan Bayern Munich forward Tel provided Tottenham with a fulcrum in attack and he and Son came close to giving his side some breathing space as both had shots that were deflected wide. Postecoglou threw on Pape Matar Sarr and Johnson to refresh his side but Spurs could not find a way through United’s defence. A header from Joshua Zirkzee that drifted just wide of the target served warning that United were not out of it but the referee, Robert Jones, waved away protests from Casemiro when he went down in the area. Surely recognising the growing danger, Postecoglou was on his feet remonstrating with his players before deciding to introduce Archie Gray and Yves Bissouma. Amorim had no such luxury and waited until added time to bring on the 17-year-old forward Chido Obi for Casemiro as yet another three points slipped away from their grasp.