Match Report: Tottenham 1 – 2 Southampton

Tottenham’s last home match of the season did not go to plan. Two goals from Southampton’s Steven Davis were enough to offset Heung-min Son’s opener in the first half.

This was a match that Tottenham needed to win in order to virtually secure second place in the Premier League while also finishing above Arsenal for the first time in over 20 years. The White Hart Lane faithful were in full voice in hopes of witnessing history.

The first half was virtually all Tottenham. Southampton were content with occupying their own half and letting the home team’s defense and midfield operate unimpeded right up to the half-way line. Attempts to clog up shooting and passing routes in their own third were modestly successful, but couldn’t do much to stop Christian Eriksen almost scoring in the 4th minute after an expertly delivered cross from Danny Rose.

Tottenham’s opener, when it came, took an unusual route. A wonderful run from Son resulted in the South Korean international passing the ball to Érik Lamela, who then tried to set up Harry Kane in Southampton’s box. The striker would have been offsides had he made a move for the ball, but when he didn’t Son saw his chance. He continued his run into the box, beat Southampton keeper Frasier Forster to the ball, dribbled past him and two defenders before slotting the ball home.

While the circumstances might have been unique, that opening goal was fully in keeping with how the match was leaning. Tottenham had control, and maintained it even after Son’s goal for a spell.

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Southampton found a way to level in the 30th minute however. Kyle Walker slumped down on the pitch at about the halfway line after falling hard on his leg, an injury that in some cases might result in the ball being sent out of play. Southampton instead chose to press toward goal, catching Tottenham’s defense unawares as Dušan Tadić slid a pass for Stephan Davis to sneak around Hugo Lloris.

Prior to and even after that equalizing goal, Southampton appeared lackadaisical. Their usual excitement to press down the ball wasn’t there, and it seemed as if the Saints might be calling it an early end to the season.

The second half would strip away some of that impression however, as Southampton remained determined in front of their own goal while increasingly taking forays forward toward Tottenham’s.

At the same time, Tottenham lost some of the incisiveness of the first half, a problem not remedied by the addition of Clinton Njie for goal-scorer Son. By the time that Davis doubled his goal tally for the game with a sneaky shot from outside the box in the 72nd minute, it seemed as if Tottenham might have lost the plot entirely.

The twenty odd minutes that followed were as you would expect. Southampton sat back, moving forward only when chance afforded it. Tottenham attempted to regain some of the momentum of the first half, but could not find the right combinations to the back of the Saints’ net. The match ended 2-1 in Southampton’s favor, thus marking the first time Mauricio Pochettino has lost to his former club at Spurs.

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Tottenham have the ignoble distinction of losing both their first and last home games of the Premier League season. Despite all that came in between those two matches, it’s hard not to be disappointed with a result like this. It might only be Tottenham’s fifth loss of the season, but it came at a most inopportune time.

A win over Newcastle next week will be absolutely necessary if Tottenham hope to finish above their local rivals.