SPURS FLAP AT THE BEES

Another stinger for Conte’s shotless flops

HARRY PRATT

ANTONIO CONTE’S toothless Tottenham slipped up again to make it ‘advantage Arsenal’ in the scrap for fourth spot.

For the second time in a week, the north Londoners failed to register a shot on target as they slumped to a goalless stalemate in the Christian Eriksen clasico at Brentford.

All of which leaves them trailing the Gunners by two points with five games left in their increasingly fraught bid for Champions League qualification. It would have been even worse had Eriksen not been denied by Hugo Lloris’s smart save in the second period.

The greeting from all sides of the ground for football’s miracle man, along with hugs from his old Spurs pals, said everything about his popularity.

The Dane (right) is loved everywhere and his second wind on the pitch – following that near-fatal cardiac arrest in the Euros – had yielded a fabulous five wins from five starts before this clash.

Brentford, safe and secure thanks to their recent red-hot run, were expected to provide a tough exam for Spurs’ mettle. So it proved.

Any visit to the Community Stadium when the hosts are in such bullish frame of mind is not for the anxious or faint-hearted – even if the Bees’ manager calls his minnows as “a bus stop in Hounslow”.

Arsenal discovered that on the opening day of the campaign.

Yesterday, it was the turn of their bitterest enemy Tottenham to feel that force.

Apart from the two title-chasers at the summit, nobody had been in better form over the past five weeks than Brentford and Spurs, with five and four wins, respectively.

Yet the visitors had undone much of their good progress by crashing at home to Brighton last weekend.

They got away with that, as Arsenal also lost, but knew there

could be no repeat if they were to retain control of their destiny in the top-four race.

The Gunners’ win over Manchester United in the lunchtime kickoff meant it was pretty much a two-horse race for that final Champions League slot.

And it dictated that Spurs had to match that result to reclaim fourth place – courtesy of a better goal difference.

But to do that they needed to overcome a run of five away London derbies without victory. They never came close. The Bees made the brighter start with Bryan Mbeumo’s deflected strike flying wide after four minutes of incessant possession.

Then Ivan Toney had a first-time effort blocked by Rodrigo Bentancur’s chest as Conte’s side struggled to find any rhythm.

And on 19 minutes the Bees hitman Toney powered Eriksen’s corner against the bar.

The hosts were all over their stretched opponents, who surely would improve at some stage? Conte barked instructions to push out and up. That had some impact with Rodrigo Bentancur unleashing Spurs’ first shot, on 30 minutes, but it was wildly off target.

The second half began as the first had, with Spurs pegged back – until Harry Kane produced his only effort of the game. Tottenham then had three shots in quick succession – none of which troubled the keeper.

Time for Eriksen to take a grip and he did, so nearly breaking the deadlock with a low drive that Lloris scrambled round the post.

Then in the dying seconds, Toney’s header from Eriksen’s freekick struck the post.