By Matt law and Rob Bagchi
Tottenham Hotspur head coach Ange Postecoglou described himself as being angrier than at any other point of his career following what he believed was an “unfair” 10th English Premier League defeat of the season.
Postecoglou was furious that Anthony Gordon’s sixth-minute equaliser was allowed to stand for Newcastle, following a handball by Joelinton that went unpunished.
Along with his entire backroom staff, Postecoglou remonstrated wildly against the decision to allow Gordon’s goal to stand. He had barely calmed down when he entered the post-match press conference a couple of hours later.
Postecoglou refused to go into detail over the incident and motioned to leave the press conference when the subject was returned to, but he clearly felt Gordon’s goal should have been disallowed.
“I’m just really, really angry, the angriest I think I have ever been in my career that they were denied the right rewards for a fantastic performance,” Postecoglou said. “I know what everyone wants me to say, but all I’ll say is that on any other day, on a fair and even playing ground, we would have won that game. Simple as that.
“Don’t keep asking me about the decision. If you guys have no opinion about it, that’s fine. I know what my opinion is and, as I said, if that was a different day and it was an even and fair playing ground, we would have won that game.”
Newcastle’s Anthony Gordon slots the ball home against Tottenham. Credit: AP
Postecoglou was fulsome in his praise of his injury-hit team. Third-choice goalkeeper Brandon Austin made his first appearance for the club and Radu Dragusin could only manage 45 minutes after suffering with an illness in the build-up to the game.
It meant that Spurs played the second half with no recognised centre-backs in front of Austin and Postecoglou added: “It’s unfair on them more than anything else that they didn’t get the rewards today.”
Asked to clarify if he was angry about the officiating, Postecoglou replied: “I know you just want me to say something, but I’m not going to. I think it’s clear. Now whether people agree with me or not whether it wasn’t handball or it was accidental, I’m just not interested in any of that discussion. What I’m saying is, on any given day with a fair and even playing field and logical thought processes, we would have won that game, that’s it. You can make what you want of that.”
Tottenham are on the verge of signing 21-year-old goalkeeper Antonin Kinsky from Slavia Prague, but Austin performed well in his first senior appearance since playing on loan for Orlando City in 2021.
Ange Postecoglou reacts during the Premier League match between Tottenham Hotspur and Newcastle United.Credit: Getty Images
Dominic Solanke headed Spurs into a fourth-minute lead from Brennan Johnson’s cross before Gordon levelled two minutes later. Lucas Bergvall’s attempted pass hit the arm of Joelinton and sent the ball straight to Bruno Guimaraes, who played in Gordon to score.
VAR ruled that Joelinton’s arm had been by his side and that the handball was accidental. Newcastle manager Eddie Howe said: “I can’t lie and say I haven’t seen it because I have. And it definitely hit Joelinton’s arm, I can give you that. But I believe his arm was down and the referee and VAR have followed the protocol in place.”
Alexander Isak’s ninth goal in seven League games – all of which he has scored in – proved to be enough to clinch three points for Newcastle, who have now won five successive top-flight games.
Postecoglou has managed to retain the faith of most of Tottenham’s home supporters, but there was a sign that patience may be wearing thin when his decision to take off Bergvall just past the hour mark was loudly booed.
Having lost half of their league games this season, leaving them in the bottom half of the table, Tottenham face Liverpool in the first leg of their Carabao Cup semi-final on Wednesday night and that competition could yet prove crucial to his future.
“I have never lacked confidence,” said Postecoglou. “I get that the results aren’t there and I get that whether people want to accept the situation we are in. You saw the performance of Archie [Gray], you saw Lucas today. He was unbelievable as an 18-year-old to play in that position. I just see so much to be positive about, but we need to win games of football and usually when you play well, you do most things right you get the rewards. Unfortunately [today] we were denied.”
