February 24, (THEWILL) – The reality of the English Premier League came hard and fast for Tottenham Hotspur on Wednesday, as they were defeated 1-0 by Burnley at a damp and windy Turf Moor in an unexpected result given recent form.
Antonio Conte’s side came into this one having defeated Man City 3-2 the previous time out, but they lacked movement in attack and were eventually undone by Ben Mee’s second-half header.
The game started out at a fast pace, with both teams pressing hard and coming at each other in the early minutes. Within the first minute, Harry Kane’s deflected effort caused some headaches at the back, before Hugo Lloris stopped Josh Brownhill’s audacious volley.
Although Lloris was not very busy in the first half, Burnley had the better of the opening stages and had the better looks of goal. There was a lot of activity in the midfield, but not much in the final third.
Conte seemed to light a fire under Spurs at halftime, as they came out on top. After hitting the crossbar with a header after only a few minutes, Harry Kane’s influence on the game grew.
As we approached the 70th minute, Jay Rodriguez had a header saved and Dejan Kulusevski fired an effort over at the other end, before Mee rose highest from a free-kick to put Burnley ahead.
Spurs had a couple of half-chances as they looked for an equaliser, but Burnley held firm and did a fantastic job of minimising space for Kane, Son, and the rest of the team to operate at any levels close to how they did against City.
Even a second goal should have been chalked up to the hosts. From a corner kick, Mee had a couple chances, and the ball ended up at the feet of Rodriguez, who struck it over the bar from close range.
Burnley, fortunately, did not have to pay the price for such profligacy, as they held on to earn a huge three points leaving Spurs’ top four dreams in jeopardy and Conte declaring that the club will need to make an assessment about his future after fourth loss in five games.
About the Author
Jude Obafemi is a versatile senior Correspondent at THEWILL Newspapers, excelling in sourcing, researching, and delivering sports news stories for both print and digital publications.
