Heung-min Son and Juan Foyth saw red as nine-man Tottenham slipped to a costly late 1-0 defeat against Bournemouth at the Vitality Stadium.
After Tottenham dominated the first half, Son reacted angrily to a challenge from Jefferson Lerma and received his marching orders two minutes before half time.
It got worse after the interval when substitute Foyth was brandished a red card for a lunge on Ryan Fraser.
Despite playing for 45 minutes with two men fewer than the opposition, Tottenham almost held out for a crucial point - but Ake headed home a corner during injury time to hit Spurs' top four hopes.
Mauricio Pochettino fielded a strong line-up with Tottenham only requiring a win to guarantee a top-four finish, while Eddie Howe handed a Premier League debut to 19-year-old goalkeeper Mark Travers.
After an energetic start to the game, it was the visitors who had the first chance when Lucas Moura tried an audacious effort from the halfway line and the Brazilian was unfortunate to see his effort bounce a foot wide of the post.
Travers was forced into action again to deny Dele Alli's long-range effort before Lucas was twice denied by the youngster, who was growing with confidence with every save.
The game was beginning to gather pace and Callum Wilson came close to handing the hosts an unlikely lead when put through on goal, but brave goalkeeping from Hugo Lloris denied the England international.
Then came the game's first controversial moment. Eric Dier brought down Wilson with a risky challenge from behind and, having already been booked, Bournemouth were furiously calling for a second yellow card and replays showed it was a difficult call for Craig Pawson to get right.
Tottenham were fortunate not to give away a penalty when Dier took Wilson's legs out from underneath him in the box only for the referee to point for a goal kick.
But there was no debate about his decision just two minutes before the break. After losing possession, Son frustratingly aimed a kick at Lerma and shoved the Colombian over. It was a rare moment of madness from the Korean and he was stunned to see Mr Pawson pull out the red card.
Pochettino reacted at the interval with a double change, bringing on Juan Foyth and Victor Wanyama for Dier and Toby Alderweireld, who were both on yellow cards. It appeared to be a wise choice but just two minutes later, Pochettino was left to rue his decision.
Foyth took a heavy touch on the centre circle and, in his attempts to win it back, lunged towards Fraser. His foot was high, the studs were up and the youngster was out of control. The referee reached into his pocket, only to produce another red card and just two minutes after coming on, Foyth was heading back to the dressing room.
Spurs were forced to switch to a 4-3-1 formation with Wanyama filling it at centre-back and their defensive setup frustrated Bournemouth, who struggled to make their two-man advantage count - until injury time, that is.
Relive Bournemouth vs Tottenham LIVE with Standard Sport!
Can't see the blog? Click here for the desktop version.
Bournemouth vs Tottenham line-ups
AFC Bournemouth XI: Travers, Clyne, Steve Cook, Simpson, Smith, Ibe, Lerma, Ake, Fraser, King, Wilson
Subs: Boruc, Mousset, Hyndman, Taylor, Mepham, Surridge, Ofoborh
Tottenham XI: Lloris, Trippier, Sanchez, Alderweireld, Rose, Dier, Sissoko, Lucas Moura, Alli, Eriksen, Son
Subs: Janssen, Wanyama, Llorente, Foyth, Gazzaniga, Davies, Skipp
Referee: Craig Pawson
