There were songs of love and devotion and the home crowd pined for the magic of Mauricio Pochettino to come back and clean up this Tottenham mess.
And there was the sound of protest, as the home fans demanded chairman Daniel Levy gets out and booed centre half Davinson Sanchez for his hapless contributions to this latest Spurs demise, crashing to defeat just as they seemed to have salvaged a point.
But it was the joyful chorus of defiance from the away end that rang longest and loudest as Bournemouth won for the first time ever at Spurs and added three points to the survival fund thanks to a frenzied closing sequence in a breathless contest.
Cherries substitute Dango Ouattara settled it with the fifth goal of the game in the fifth minute of stoppage time. Tottenham had equalised in the 89th minute with a fizzing strike by Arnaut Danjuma against his former club, and were hurling everything forward in search of the winner when the visitors broke clear.
Dominic Solanke, who made his side’s first, scored their second and excelled throughout, shrugged off Pedro Porro and squared for Ouattara who held his nerve to work the ball back on to his right foot and pick his spot, low past Hugo Lloris.
Bournemouth claimed a vital 3-2 away win over Tottenham in the Premier League on Saturday
Star substitute Dango Ouattara (left) netted a 95th minute winner for the travelling Cherries
Those in Bournemouth red-and-black erupted. Victory moves them six points clear of the relegation zone. They have 33 points with seven to play and appear to have the requisite stomach for the fight as they move into fixtures against West Ham, Southampton and Leeds.
‘Just a big three points,’ said boss Gary O’Neil. ‘The first thing you need at a place this big is belief. They’ve got lovely new stadium and the England captain, one of the best strikers ever up front, but we’ve got to believe we can come here and get a result.’
Believe they did. They arrived late, the team bus gridlocked behind an accident for almost an hour on the way from the hotel and the Cherries went behind in the 14th minute, when Son Heung-min found the net.
Clement Lenglet clipped a long pass to Ivan Perisic, who drove behind Bournemouth’s defence and showed the presence of mind to find Son on his shoulder, rather than flash the ball square. Son swept it first time into the net with the inside of his left boot, his eighth Premier League goal of the season converted in front of new South Korea boss Jurgen Klinsmann.
Spurs threatened to stretch ahead. Harry Kane fired wide from 20 yards and Neto made saves, first to foil Son on the run, jinking past Chris Mepham after a pass by Oliver Skipp. Then, to block an effort by Kane after a pass threaded through a crowded box by Son.
O’Neil had tweaked his system to match Tottenham’s back three and for a time the home team took advantage of the spaces behind the wing-backs but the visitors settled into a happier rhythm after they had conceded.
Perhaps the home side helped them by relaxing intensity levels, slipping into autopilot. Ryan Christie fired a warning with a chance to level on the break and Marcus Tavernier drew a save from Lloris with a curler from 20 yards.
Then Sanchez came on for Lenglet, who was hurt making an innocuous challenge in midfield.
Interim Spurs boss Cristian Stellini shuffled Cristian Romero from the right to the left of his back three and his team conceded from the flank now patrolled in casual fashion by Sanchez and Porro.
Matias Vina pounced to steal the ball from Porro and continued his forward run. Philip Billing found Solanke and his pass got to Vina, who scored his first goal for the club, a clipped finish over the dive of Lloris.
Neto saved a shot through a crowd by Son but Bournemouth were the better team as the first half closed, passing the ball with crispness and confidence as their fans sang about staying up, a feat few outside of Dorset thought possible at the start of the season.
Arnaut Danjuma thought he had rescued a point for Tottenham with an 88th minute equaliser
Matias Vina cancelled out the hosts’ early opener, levelling the scoreboard in the 38th minute
Son Heung-min performs his trademark celebration after firing Spurs ahead in the early stages
Christie was booked for a dive, trying far too hard to find contact under a challenge from Romero. Then they lost Vina to injury before taking the lead six minutes into the second half.
Tavernier on the run caused Spurs to panic in defence and a hapless intervention by Sanchez nudged the ball perfectly into the path of Solanke, who applied a clinical finish to beat Lloris.
Stellini’s search for a way back into the game meant further embarrassment for Sanchez, replaced by Danjuma as Tottenham switched to a back four. His team were one up when he came on and 2-1 down as he left. The home crowd, having booed his every touch after the second goal, cheered his exit.
Dominic Solanke put relegation-threatened Bournemouth in front early in the second half
Skipp was later sacrificed for Richarlison and Spurs ended the game with five strikers on the pitch and Kane operating from central midfield.
Richarlison had a goal ruled out for offside and Bournemouth resisted until the 88th minute when Dutchman Danjuma levelled. A Perisic long throw glanced off the head of Mepham to Danjuma, who lashed it into the net with the help of a slight deflection.
There was a delay to decide if Kane, clearly offside, was in the goalkeeper’s eye line before the goal was awarded. O’Neil thought it should have been ruled out.
And there was a golden chance for Richarlison, who missed the target with a free header at the back post before Ouattara’s winning contribution and an explosion of emotions.
