Tottenham Held By Bournemouth In A Feisty Goalless Draw

Tottenham blew their chance to go top of the Premier League table after being held to a goalless draw against Bournemouth at the Vitality Stadium.

In an early exchange that saw Tottenham carve out the first chance of the game when Artur Boruc who was in goal for Bournemouth misplaced a pass which Dele Alli latched on to and placed a waited pass to Son Heung-Min, but he was flagged in an offside position.

A host of yellow cards were issued in the closing 15 minutes of an intense first half as Erik Lamela and Moussa Sissoko were both lucky not to have been shown a red card.

The home side came close to taking the lead when a quick corner was played into the area for Charlie Daniels who shot from close range but Hugo Lloris made a big save by tipping the ball up over the crossbar.

Referee Craig Pawson booked Lamela for a fowl on Harry Arter after Boruc had saved from a deflected Christian Eriksen when he had to dive to his left to touch the ball round the post.

Dan Gosling became the first Bournemouth player booked for a foul on Kyle Walker and then Danny Rose was cautioned for a challenge on Joshua King.

Lamela could have been sent off for a foul on Gosling before the break, Wilson headed a Wilshere cross wide for the hosts.

The second half began with Spurs coming out the better side when Delle Alli called out Boruc to pull off a fine save. But they could have been a man down if referee Craig Pawsonhad noticed Moussa Sissoko’s elbowed Arter.

Cherries manager Eddie Howe brought on Max Gradel after the hour mark in place of Jordan Ibe, while Mauricio Pochettino introduced Janssen for Son.

Max Gradel saw a shot blocked and was then booked for a foul on Lamela minutes before Wilson got down the right flank but saw his cross intercepted by Vertonghen.

Gradel had a late chance when he pounced on a misplaced pass down the left for Bournemouth but, with Wilshere in the middle, he delayed his cross and the ball was cleared.

Bournemouth made two changes, bringing on Benik Afobe for Wilson while King, who had suffered a knock earlier was replaced by Ryan Fraser.

Bournemouth were the better side in the closing minutes and thought they would have had a penalty when Victor Wanyama tackled Wilshere.

In all, Spurs would be glad they got a point at the Vitality Stadium but would ruin the chance of going top of the Premier League table.