CURSES
More Wembley misery for Spurs as boss Pochettino blames his players.. not their stadium jinx
TOTTENHAM 1 BURNLEY 1 MAURICIO POCHETTINO accused wasteful Tottenham of switching off at the death as they blew a chance to lift their Wembley curse.
Spurs have now won only once in 11 games at the national stadium after they were pegged back by Burnley sub Chris Wood’s 92nd-minute equaliser.
Pochettino (right), whose side have slipped five points behind Premier League leaders Manchester United, warned his players they could not
TOTTENHAM 1 Alli 49 BURNLEY 1 Wood 90 DELE ALLI declared the Totting Hill carnival open – but the party fell flat for Spurs at Wembley.
Chris Wood, Burnley’s record £17million signing, introduced himself from the bench with a deserved stoppage-time equaliser.
So that is one win in 11 games for Tottenham at the national stadium and Harry Kane has still never scored in the Premier League in August.
Spurs were booed off, and boss Mauricio Pochettino’s angry gesticulations when New Zealand striker Wood added some Kiwi polish to Burnley’s endeavours told their own story.
Tottenham should have won comfortably after Alli’s breakthrough early in the second half. But Kane missed at least five decent chances as Spurs’ promise faded like a summer holiday tan, Pochettino accusing them of nodding off in the dying minutes.
Burnley grafted for dear life and Robbie Brady was outstanding. The winger had already forced Hugo Lloris into a sprawling save when his sublime pass in the second minute of added time saw Wood finish confidently.
“We keep going to the last breath,” said manager Sean Dyche. “We’ve done that many times at Burnley. I’m not really interested in the Wembley effect on Tottenham – they’re a top side with some fantastic individuals, we’re more interested in getting on with the game.
“I want a team who can be effective in different ways – sometimes tactical, sometimes by playing pockets of good football and sometimes with blood and guts.
“It’s not easy to go to Chelsea and win, especially by scoring three goals, and after coming here to win a point my only gripe would be we played better at home to West Brom and we got nothing.”
Tottenham deserve more forensic analysis because they have become more nervous at home than kittens when next door’s dog is at large.
England midfielder Alli’s twinkling feet and silken first touch often looked their likeliest source of joy, and after a laboured opening half he broke the deadlock within four minutes of the restart.
Defender Ben Mee made a hash of an attempted clearance from a corner, and although Matthew Lowton blocked Alli’s first effort, he made no mistake with the rebound from just six yards.
Spurs had been uninspired, but looked on course for their first win at Wembley since the Champions League dead rubber against CSKA Moscow in December.
But the harder Kane tried to break his August jinx, the more frustrated he became.
He shovelled one chance wide from 12 yards, headed another over, rammed a freekick into the wall and, most significantly, when one-onone with keeper Tom Heaton, it was Kane who blinked first.
“Sometimes it goes like this for a striker,” said Pochettino. “He had opportunities, and maybe you need a little bit of luck, but I’m sure he will start to score for us as soon as possible – I’ve no doubt about it.
“Of course I feel bad because of the way we conceded the goal and missed out on two points, but I think it’s too early to think about the league or different targets for the future.”
But Kane’s wasted chances could come back to haunt them when the points are totted up in May.