Tottenham were beaten 2-1 by Newcastle United at home in the Premier League amid controversy
Tottenham Hotspur’s terrible recent run of form has continued as they lost 2-1 to Newcastle United at home on Saturday afternoon.
Spurs had come into this fixture in poor form and without many key players. However, they had an ideal start as Dominic Solanke gave Ange Postecoglou’s side the lead in just four minutes. It took only two minutes for Newcastle United to equalise via Anthony Gordon, who drilled a fantastic left-footed shot past debutant goalkeeper Brandon Austin.
But Gordon’s goal wasn’t without controversy. Austin rolled the ball to Archie Gray and he passed it to Pape Matar Sarr, whose heavy pass amid the Newcastle press left Lucas Bergvall to mop it up. Bergvall managed to do so but his clearance was blocked by Joelinton’s hand in the build-up to Gordon’s leveller.
As per a statement released via Premier League Match Centre on X: “The referee’s call of goal was confirmed by VAR, who checked for a potential handball by Joelinton in the build-up and deemed that his arm was by his side, in a natural position and the contact was accidental.”
However, Ange Postecoglou was visibly livid by the referee’s decision first for allowing the play to continue which led to the goal, before showing his disgust at the VAR for not overturning it. After the game, the Tottenham boss stated his team’s football was “outstanding” and that had “all things been equal and balanced”, they would have won the game.
“If all things were equal and balanced we would have won today. Things weren’t equal and balanced,” Ange Postecoglou told BBC Sport.
When asked to clarify what was not equal, if it was Newcastle’s equaliser, he added: “You can talk about whatever you want. You want my opinion – if all things were equal and balanced we would have won.
“We had plenty of chances. Our football was outstanding considering everything we’re going through.
“If it was an even playing field we’d have won.”
Postecoglou would have been delighted when Solanke gave Spurs an early lead to calm down some nerves among the fans. And two minutes later, the Australian would have been absolutely fuming to see his team concede. There was visible frustration and anger on the faces of Big Ange and his players after Joelinton’s block came off his hand leading to Gordon’s goal, but VAR did not rule it out.
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The handball rule in the Premier League continues to remain ambiguous, making it difficult to know what is allowed and what is not in the modern game. The incident turned the tide in Newcastle’s favour, and considering how things have gone for Tottenham this season, it wasn’t surprising that we ended up on the losing side once again.
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It is now just one win in the last eight Premier League games for the Lilywhites, putting Big Ange under immense pressure. His team’s defensive frailties were exposed again, but one cannot blame the Australian for everything knowing the fact that he has been working with a hugely depleted squad for months now.
