Ange Postecoglou expresses his frustration after Tottenham’s 2-1 defeat to Newcastle
Tottenham Hotspur tasted their first defeat of the 2024/25 Premier League season, losing 2-1 to Newcastle United at St James’ Park on Sunday afternoon.
Harvey Barnes’ first-half opener for Newcastle was cancelled out by a Dan Burn own goal after the break as Ange Postecoglou’s side dominated the chances in the second period. However, they spurned numerous openings and half-chances and were beaten by a lightning-quick break from the hosts.
A defence-splitting pass from Joelinton in the build-up sliced open the Tottenham backline, with Jacob Murphy squaring the ball for Isak to score the second and eventually the winner for the home side. This means Spurs have gone into the season’s first international break with just one win in three games.
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It was another disappointing result on the road for Postecoglou and Tottenham. Big Ange expressed frustration after Spurs returned home from St James’ Park with no points to show, despite dominating large parts of the game.
“Yeah, obviously we should have got something from the game,” Postecoglou said after the game (h/t The Daily Mail).
“It’s very similar to our first away game (at Leicester) where we controlled it for the most part. We just needed to kill it off and we didn’t.
“The second goal was disappointing. We switched off but it should have been well over by then.
“So, it’s another sore one unfortunately, where we haven’t got the rewards for our play. But it’s three strong performances from our first three games. The results don’t reflect that.”
Indeed, it was another fine performance from Spurs, controlling the game for large parts on Sunday. There ought to be frustration within the dressing room for not getting the desired result. A lack of clinical edge in and around the box was the reason for Big Ange’s side not putting the game to bed in the second half.
We sorely missed the presence of our record-signing Dominic Solanke, who could have at least buried a couple of gilt-edged chances. The amount of pressure we put and pinned Newcastle back at one point was quite outstanding, given the horror show our boys put at St James’ Park last season.
However, dominance counts for nothing if we don’t take the chances and make it count and that’s what exactly happened with Big Ange and Co. at Newcastle. There are a lot of positives to take amid the defeat and we must build on whilst ironing out the few negatives.
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Let’s hope the team comes back refreshed and stronger after the international break for the big north London derby.
