With striker Harry Kane returning to the team from injury,Tottenham had their chance to close the gap on first place to two points but as usual, fluffed it.
With a very competitive league as such as the English Premier league, consistency, toughness, sturdiness, effectiveness, class are very much needed to clinch the title but in recent years, Tottenham has shown to be just like an electric breaker that goes up and down.
They visited Turf Moor with the hopes of securing a win and putting extra pressure on top leaders tied on the same point Manchester City and Liverpool, a win would without doubt, strengthen their chances of winning the league.
Tottenham has won three consecutive games heading into the match and Burnley has gone unbeaten in the past seven matches to move them away from relegation trouble and they were without doubt, in great form.
Burnley showed Tottenham what toughness and determination is all about as they fought to North East London men to a half time goalless draw.
Controversy occured twelve minutes after the inception of the second half as the officials granted a corner to Burnley when an attempted cross from Jeff Hendricks blocked by Vertonghen appeared to have touched the Burnley player last before going out of play. The ensuing corner broke the deadlock and Woods put Burnley ahead with a header.
Eight minutes later, Tottenham were to be gain from their own share of controversy as Danny Rose made a throw some distance away from the actual spot above the Burnley players and towards striker Harry Kane who ran into the penalty area, shoving off challenges from the Burnley defenders and calmly slotting the ball into the net to draw Spurs level.
That goal aroused hopes of a comeback and a much needed win for Tottenham but it was not to be so. The Burnley team remained resilient and proved to tough not to be cracked. A moment of confusion and shapelessness from Tottenham starting with a poor clearance from Aurier saw Burnley make their way into the penalty area amidst a Tottenham defence struggling to get in shape, a Hendricks unlucky shot fell luckily in front of striker Barnes and he played into an empty net to put Burnley ahead.
With seven minutes plus extra time to go, Burnley showed strength and stamina and saw off any threat Tottenham offered, making sure they came out with a win to the ecstasy of their coach and the fury of Tottenham's coach Mauricio Pochettino who angrily stormed into the centre of the pitch after the full time whistle to drop a package of his frustrations to referee Mike Dean.
The argument was a heated one with club officials having to intervene before the issue escalates, it was clear Pochettino's anger and frustration was as a result of his team letting another opportunity go close the gap on league leaders slip up. He had this to say after the game...
“I didn't lose it but what happened there, happened there. We lost the game because of us, not because of excuses. “If we need someone to blame, it is myself and the team because we had the capacity to win the game but we didn't". “I will accept everything that will happen from the FA but I think the things that happened on the pitch, I hope they won’t go any further.”
Wise words from the coach I must confess because we all get caught up in emotions sometimes and it was clear Tottenham had enough ability on the pitch to win Burnley but clearly lacked the spirit.
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