AFC Bournemouth hearts were broken as Tottenham came from 2-0 down to claim a 3-2 victory at the Vitality Stadium. A double from Kieffer Moore put the hosts comfortably ahead before goals from Sessegnon, Davies and finally, Bentancur secured a comeback victory for Tottenham.
Bournemouth were by far the better side throughout the first 60 minutes. It took a powerful run and deflected finish from Ryan Sessegnon to reignite the diminished flame amongst Tottenham. A whopping 19 corners for the visitors were bound to cause Bournemouth some issues, which were initially well dealt with, before Tottenham prevailed.
There were plenty of positives for Gary O’Neil to take from the game, especially in the first half, but he will likely be concerned by the fact Bournemouth so quickly decided to sit deep, always a dangerous option against a team with the attacking talent of Tottenham.
In his post-match press conference, Gary O’Neil emphasised how his overriding feeling was one of “disappointment.” He said:
“They put everything in but got nothing out, so the nature of that is tough to take.”
A newly promoted side taking on a champion’s league level opposition was never going to be easy for O’Neil’s men, as he said after the game:
“We closed the gap and managed to be really competitive with a top side. We are disappointed with the nature of the goals because there are mistakes, and they will cost you at this level.”
Last season Tottenham struggled hugely from set pieces, but since hiring a set piece coach the goals have been free-flowing. O’Neil admits that his team anticipated this threat, and worked on it, making it all the more disappointing to concede two goals from corners:
“There were some errors from is in there, we know that spurs are a big threat from them, so we worked hard on some stuff, there were errors, which is disappointing. When a goal comes from something you’ve worked hard on it’s obviously disappointing.”
O’Neil’s changes throughout the game all had a defensive slant to them, and he admits it’s impossible to compete with the top sides when it comes to squad depth:
“When they keep bringing world-class players off the bench it can be tricky, the boys can take a lot of credit but until the dust settles it can be hard to see it that way.”
Dominic Solanke was fit to start today, but O’Neil revealed that he made the decision to start Kieffer Moore several days ago, choosing to play them both in the end. Both of Bournemouth’s goals came courtesy of Kieffer Moore, and O’Neil was full of praise for the Welsh international.
“I thought he was excellent, and the lads used him really well with our forward play.”
One small positive that Bournemouth can take from today is that, with Neto injured, Mark Travers stepped up successfully. The Irishman made several big saves during the game, saves that for so much of the game, looked to be match-winning:
“I thought he made some good saves and can take big credit from large moments today.” said his manager.
AFC Bournemouth will look to move on from three straight Premier League defeats when they face Leeds away at Elland Road next Saturday.