Premier League

TOTTENHAM 1 (Solanke 4)
NEWCASTLE 2 (Gordon 6, Isak 38)

NEVER in a 30-year career has Tottenham boss Ange Postecoglou been so enraged by a result, the under fire manager said after watching his side fall to a 2-1 home defeat to Newcastle this afternoon (Saturday).

Spurs let a lead slip again – this time under controversial circumstances. Newcastle midfielder Joelinton had handled the ball in the build up to a game-changing equaliser – and Postecoglou was furious.

“Whether people agree with me or not whether it wasn’t handball or it was accidental, I’m just not interested,” he fumed afterwards.

“On any given day with a fair and even playing field and logical thought processes, we would have won that game. I am the angriest I think I have ever been in my career. My players were denied the right rewards for a fantastic performance.”

Anthony Gordon finished well after Dominic Solanke had given the home side the lead on four minutes. Alexander Isak got a second before half-time and, despite the home side laying siege, Newcastle, in fifth, saw out the clash.

The injury-riddled nature of the Tottenham squad has been reflected in a miserable run of form, Spurs winning just one in eight games. Matters were compounded this week when a bug left just 11 first-team squad members available for training on Thursday.

It meant Postecoglou’s line up had a Sunday League air about it – not so much a tactical selection, more a case of who had a pair of boots.

It got even more comical after the break, when Radu Dragusin was unable to continue. He has run himself into the ground and suffered from the same bug his teammates have been laid out by.

It meant this under-pressure Spurs side kept a 45-minute clean sheet with third choice full-back Djed Spence partnering 18-year-old midfielder Archie Gray in the centre, the long overlooked Sergio Reguilon in at left-back and out of form Pedro Porro the only regular. They defended a goal kept by Brandon Austin, who, at 26, has never played a minute in the Premier League.

That Tottenham turned in the performance they did is a testimony to the fact these players are still fighting for the manager. “The players put in an unbelievable performance, fantastic football, created chances, denied them, having to defend strongly, which we did,” Postecoglou said. “It’s unfair on them, more than anything else, that they didn’t get the rewards.”

Any trepidation felt when the teams were announced evaporated within minutes when the opener was created by Lucas Bergvall’s keenness to carry the ball forward. He drove from deep before finding Brennan Johnson. The ball eventually found Porro, who put in a dangerous cross that was met by a Solanke. Postecoglou was handed the perfect start.

The controversial equaliser came just three minutes later. Bergvall pushed the ball round Joelinton but the Magpie midfielder stuck out a leg and the ball spun up to hit his arm. It sent the ball away for Bruno Guimaraes, who set up Anthony Gordon to finish low.

Postecoglou doesn’t go in for touchline tantrums but what he saw sent him into paroxysms of fury. Anger at the referee increased when Newcastle defender Dan Burn, already on a yellow, committed a deliberate handball to stop a break. Deserving another yellow, he was only penalised with a free-kick.

Spurs responded, pushed on by a sense of injustice. Solanke saw a goal-bound effort blocked, while a shot from Pape Matar Sarr had to be closely watched by Newcastle keeper Martin Dubravka.

Then came the goal which would turn out to be the winner. Dragusin, heavy footed, was unable to get enough on a low cross to steer it away. Isak didn’t know much about it, but there was enough of his boot on the ball to direct it past Austin.

Early in the second half, Tottenham set out their stall with some pressure: one attack saw Sarr drive low from distance which Dubravka had to scramble for. His parry fell to Johnson, who could only crash his shot against a post from a tight angle.

Postecoglou brought on Heung-Min Son, Yves Bissouma and James Maddison with 30 to go as he tried to change the game’s complexion. Solanke forced Dubravka into a good save, Johnson shot wide, Son threatened and Maddison sent one effort a smidgen past the far post.

This loss came via a mixture of bad luck, poor refereeing and a dash of disjointed and nervous approach play.

Postecoglou may have been dealt a horrible hand recently, but apart from his first 10 games in charge, things have not been easy for over a year. The score card stands at 37 points won in 30 games – a figure that shows just how badly this team has been doing for a significant period of time.

Tottenham: Austin, Porro, Dragusin (Reguilon, 46), Gray, Spence, Sarr (Bissouma, 61), Bergvall (Maddison, 61), Werner (Son, 61), Kulusevski, Johnson, Solanke
Substitutes not used: Whiteman, Lankshear, Dorrington, Olusesi, Hardy

Newcastle: Dubravka, Livramento, Burn, Botman (Kelly, 90+1), Joelinton, Tonali, Guimaraes, Gordon (Barnes, 77), Isak (Willock, 85), Murphy (Longstaff, 85)
Substitutes not used: Vlachodimos, Trippier, Barnes, Osula, Almiron, Miley