Tottenham manager Ange Postecoglou praised the mentality of Dominic Solanke after the striker scored a penalty in the 3-1 victory over Bodo/Glimt in the Europa League semi-final first leg on Thursday.

Solanke's penalty put Spurs 3-0 ahead in the game before he later went off with an injury and a late goal from the visitors gave them hope ahead of the second leg in Norway next week.

"He has got a really strong mindset. He is a quiet guy but has a real clear focus," said Postecoglou when talking to TNT Sports about Solanke.

"The way he takes his penalty is indicative of the person he is. He works so hard for the team. I love that he gets the goal, a reward for the hard work he does. When you think of the goal that we conceded that becomes even more important for us.

"Hopefully [the injury] it's nothing too serious. That's just the way our season is going; nothing is straightforward. We wanted to take them [Solanke and Maddison] off. Speaking to them both hopefully it is nothing too serious."

One blot on Spurs' copybook was Ulrik Saltnes' goal in the 83rd minute, which reduced the deficit to two goals ahead of the second leg.

"Disappointing in that they hadn't created much," said Postecoglou.

"I still walk away thinking about the performance. Against Frankfurt I thought we were three or four goals better here but we didn't take that there. The lads will think the same tonight. If we play the way we did tonight over there then we will get the result that we need."

Solanke himself echoed the thoughts of his manager about the performance, while acknowledging how pleased he was with his goal.

"Pleased with the performance. We know they are a good team at home. We know that it is a tough place to go so it is nice to have a lead," he told TNT Sports.

"It's always nice to score, especially in these big games. It is that bit more special.

"It wasn't ideal conceding that late on. We wanted to keep the clean sheet and take the 3-0 lead there. We lacked a bit of concentration in the end and let them get that goal.

"It doesn't change things much. We know that we need to go there and put on performance and get the job done."