Ange Postecoglou claimed Tottenham were masters of their own demise in their 1-0 defeat to Bournemouth in the Premier League.
Dean Huijsen headed in the only goal of the match from a corner in the 17th minute to hand Postecoglou's Spurs a sixth defeat of the season, finishing with an xG of just 0.58 despite having more than 65% possession.
Indeed, Bournemouth had 21 shots and saw two goals disallowed for offside, although a possible Spurs equalizer was also ruled out when Son Heung-min was flagged.
But after his team followed up a disappointing home game against Fulham with a toothless display on the south coast, Postecoglou could not hide his frustration.
“It's not good enough. We fell into the trap again by starting the game very well, we were in control, and then we conceded a very bad goal,” Postecoglou told Amazon Prime, after a defeat that Tottenham pushed to tenth place. 20 points from 14 games.
“Then we lost our way a bit and let Bournemouth play the game they wanted. We had our moments in the second half but we couldn't score a goal.
“I don't know if they had more urgency, but we tend to shoot ourselves in the foot when we should be controlling games.”
Bournemouth, meanwhile, climbed into the top half of the table with their fourth win in five games at the Vitality Stadium.
“Bournemouth are hard to beat here and what you shouldn't do is give them a goal that gives them the momentum they need,” said the Tottenham head coach.
Deano pic.twitter.com/mWM5GNdjpO
— AFC Bournemouth (@afcbournemouth) December 5, 2024
Spurs next play at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium on Sunday against second-placed Chelsea, who are unbeaten in their last six league games.
“These are all big games coming up. We have to get ourselves out of the space we are in at a time when we can't really get a grip on the season,” Postecoglou said.
Meanwhile, Bournemouth boss Andoni Iraola was full of praise for 19-year-old Huijsen, who had made his third league start of the season in place of Marcos Senesi.
“He was very good defensively and he scored the goal. Of course we can use his length in the set plays. He is also confident on the ball. He is good news for us,” said the Spanish tactician.
“He needs and demands opportunities, and I think he will get them even more now. Marco.” [Senesi] is injured, so he is getting more and more opportunities. It's good for us that he has found the level.”
Huijsen became Bournemouth's youngest ever goalscorer in the Premier League at 19 years and 235 days and the third youngest Spaniard, after Cesc Fabregas and Stefan Bajcetic.
“Our defensive performance was very satisfactory. We didn't give them many chances at all. Defensively everyone was very good,” Iraola said.
“Luckily we got the job done, but there were times when we thought if we didn't kill them they would punish us,” he added.
Bournemouth are next in action on Sunday against Ipswich Town at Portman Road.
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