Sloppy Spurs held by resolute Brighton
LONDON: Tottenham Hotspur was held to a 11 draw at Brighton and Hove Albion yesterday, giving fresh hope to Chelsea in the battle for an English Premier League topfour finish while edging the home side further away from the relegation zone.
A tame encounter sprang to life early in the second half when England forward Harry Kane fired Tottenham ahead with his 26th league goal of the season, but the advantage was shortlived as Brighton won a penalty within seconds of the restart.
Spurs fullback Serge Aurier clipped the heels of Jose Izquierdo and Pascal Gross managed to squeeze his spotkick past keeper Hugo Lloris, to the relief of the home fans.
The draw left fourthplaced Tottenham eight points clear of Chelsea in fifth, but last season’s champion has a game in hand in the battle to secure Champions League qualification.
Tottenham made a raft of changes to its team before Sunday’s FA Cup semifinal against Manchester United at Wembley but manager Mauricio Pochettino was not making excuses.
‘‘Today was not because we rotated the team,’’ he said. ‘‘Everyone is ready to play but Brighton were very difficult opponents and we need to give credit to them.’’
For Brighton, which faces Manchester United, Manchester City and Liverpool in its final three league games, it was another precious point in the battle to avoid the drop and left it eight points clear of the relegation zone in 13th.
‘‘What I was most delighted with was the character of the team to concede the way we did and then react the way we did,’’ Brighton manager Chris Hughton said.
It was a cagey first half as Brighton defended resolutely, sacrificing any attacking intent to keep Spurs at arm’s length.
Kane, who is second in the league scoring charts behind Liverpool striker Mo Salah’s 30 goals, was reduced to glimpses of goal, while the only clearcut opening fell to Son Heungmin.
Kane teed up the South Korean, who made a sharp burst into the box and fired low towards the corner but his effort was brilliantly turned around the post by Mathew Ryan’s fulllength save.
The match burst properly into life minutes after the restart, when Tottenham took the lead and Brighton equalised in the space of a few moments. — Reuters