For Tottenham and Frank it was a much-needed victory after his side had been booed off the pitch at the end of their 1-0 home loss to Chelsea on Saturday.
That extended a run of only one point from three successive home Premier League matches, even though they had picked up five points from their opening three games in the Champions League.
Frank urged the fans to back the team and the supporters responded as they, along with a passionate following from the visitors, helped create a superb atmosphere.
The home mood was helped when Tottenham took a 19th-minute lead through Brennan Johnson, before Wilson Odobert added a second soon after the restart to put Spurs in control.
That threatened to change when Johnson was sent off, after Belgian official Erik Lambrechts had been sent to the pitchside monitor by the video assistant referee to review the Welshman’s sliding challenge on to the ankle of Marcos Lopez.
But Van de Ven’s moment of magic quickly ended any hope of a fightback as Copenhagen, despite having a man advantage, crumbled with Joao Palhinha adding a fourth. There was almost a fifth but Richarlison hit the crossbar with a penalty in added time.
“We’re progressing forwards, but we are not where we want to be,” admitted Frank afterwards. “I saw a good performance, which I’m happy with. We talked about bounce-back mentality and there will be setbacks in football, it’s how you react after a bad spell. We controlled the game from minute one.”
For Van de Ven, it has been a mixed few days.
After the game against Chelsea, television footage showed he and team-mate Djed Spence appearing to snub Frank, when the Dane had gestured for them to go and acknowledge the home supporters.
Both players apologised after the incident, with Frank drawing a line under the matter in Monday’s news conference
Following Van de Ven’s goal, which will be talked about for years to come, Frank joked about the Dutchman: “He can keep walking past me if he is angry.”
Arabic