Premier League

TOTTENHAM 2 (Son 14, Danjuma 88)
AFC BOURNEMOUTH 3 (Vina 38, Solanke 51, Ouattara 90+5)

SURELY Tottenham will not be given yet another chance to shake themselves and get back into the top four.

After Newcastle’s 3-0 defeat at Aston Villa, Spurs were today (Saturday) yet again handed a game against a struggling team with the knowledge a win would push them back into the Champions League slots.

But, as we saw against Southampton and Everton in recent weeks, give Spurs some beneficial results around them and they are nailed on to throw the chance away.

Today, a Bournemouth side two-points clear of relegation at kick off snatched a 95th minute winner, leaving a growing sense that this season cannot end quickly enough for the north Londoners.

Substitute Dango Ouattara struck Bournemouth’s late winner in a dramatic game that saw Tottenham take the lead through Heung-Min Son. But despite being in complete control, Spurs deflated like a Whoopee cushion with a slow puncture.

Temporary boss Cristian Stellini must be another looking forward to stepping away at the end of May. But unlike the approach of Antonio Conte, the man who brought him to the club, Stellini put a shield around a team who must wonder what deity they have let down to suffer yet another last-minute disappointment.

“We gave everything, the players today have to go home with no regrets after this type of game because they pushed a lot,” Stellini said after the game.

But he recognised how Tottenham had shown a Jekyll and Hyde approach, with some lovely approach play let down by comical defending.

Stellini added: “The only question they have to ask themselves is not to play two games in one, play only one game… when we scored, again, we dropped too much and we allowed the opponent to score two goals, not one. To recover, that is very difficult. We did, because we gave everything, and we had the opportunity to win, as well, with Richarlison.

“It’s very difficult, because we deserved it and we had the chances to do it. When you don’t create the chances, you can say, ‘okay, we weren’t good enough’ + but we were good enough, because we scored the second goal, and we had a great chance with Richarlison.”

It could be argued otherwise. Spurs showed yet again today that if an opponent shows up well organised and determined – which are surely the minimum requirements for any football team – they can fancy their chances.

Tottenham, for all the talent, still get the collective yips like they just know the banana skin is waiting for them.

Yet they looked like they were in the mood to brush Bournemouth aside at first. On 14 minutes, Clement Lenglet played in Ivan Perisic,who picked out Son to finish.

But things switched for Spurs as they took their foot off the pedal while being dominant. Lenglet had to walk after injuring a calf, and his replacement, Davinson Sanchez, became a case in point in how hard it is for footballers who don’t pay for months on end to shake off real time match rustiness.

Sanchez was to last but 22 minutes and made two errors that resulted in goals. Subbed off as Spurs chased the game for the attacking threat of Arnaut Danjuma, it was a heartbreaking moment for a player whose time at the club is surely nearing its end.

Spurs could not make it till half time in the lead. The equaliser came via Dominic Solanke nicking the ball from Pedro Porro and slipping in Matías Vina to finish.

This predictable Hotspur horror story took another turn on 51. Sanchez was turned and then as he tried to recover, his poked tackle simply tee’d up the incoming Solanke to finish first-time.

It was now siege time. For 20 minutes Spurs did all they could to find a way back. Perisic sent a volley over the bar, Oliver Skipp drove an effort that forced Neto to save, Danjuma tested the keeper again, and then Harry Kane nodded wide when you’d put your house on him hitting the target.

As the attacks reached kitchen sink proportions, Danjuma smashed home off a loose ball just inside the box. It seemed there would now be only one winner as Spurs poured forward to nick a goal their desperate efforts perhaps deserved.

But Bournemouth, resolute in defence, sticking to a game plan and playing for each other, had the last laugh. After the home side had fluffed another chance from a corner, Solanke broke and squared the ball to the fresh legs of Ouattara to slot home.

It added to the sense that something is rotten at the heart of Tottenham at the moment and that the summer cannot come soon enough.

Tottenham: Lloris, Romero, Dier, Lenglet (Sanchez, 34, Sanchez, Danjuma, 58), Porro, Hojbjerg, Skipp (Richarlison, 76), Perisic, Kulusevski, Son, Kane
Substitutes not used: Forster, Austin, Sanchez,, Danjuma, Tanganga, Sarr, Devine, Abbott

Bournemouth: Neto, Stephens, Kelly, Mepham, Lerma, Solanke, Christie (Anthony, 65), Rothwell, Taverner (Ouattara, 78), Vina (Smith, 48), Billing (Senesi, 77)
Substitutes not used: Travers, Cook, Moore, Semenyo,, Zabarnyi