David Hytner’s match report has landed. And with that, this MBM whirrs to a close. Thanks for reading!
Mauricio Pochettino’s take: “We did not have too much luck. So we have to move on. For the first 40 minutes we played so well, creating chances. We did not score, sometimes football is like this, it is cruel. And we conceded in the last minutes. Two red cards made it difficult for the team, but we fought. We made the effort. But we are disappointed. Nothing to say, I respect the decision of the referee. You cannot change what happened. Unlucky for us, nothing to say. I don’t believe it has a big impact for Wednesday. We are third, we are competing for the top four, we are in the semi-finals of the Champions League. In the first game of the season, you would take the position we are in today. I am going to feel proud about our season. What will happen, will happen.”
Eddie Howe talks. “It was a tough game. I’ve played against nine men before, once at Burnley, and we nearly drew the game. It’s tough, they get into a good shape and there’s no space behind. They’re relying on counter attacks, and it’s all about your quality, and we had one moment of quality at the end. It’s a huge achievement for us to stay in the Premier League. The problem is, it gets boring, it gets seen to be par for the course. I think we are over-achieving. But we have some outstanding players at the same time. It’s going to be our biggest challenge to keep doing that. We want to keep our best players, and add the other way, rather than lose the nucleus that we have. It’s going to be a big summer.”
The match-winner Nathan Ake speaks: “When the opposition has two red cards, you are expected to win. We were sloppy. We didn’t create enough, so we are happy we scored in the last minute. To finish the season like this at home is very good.”
A beaming Mark Travers - the man of the match on debut! - adds: “It was an unbelievable day for me. To get the opportunity against a top side like Tottenham was unbelievable. I felt comfortable out there and enjoyed every minute. I’ll always remember my first save in the Premier League.”
Well that was eventful. Spurs had two players sent off. They could have ended the game with eight men. They conceded a last-minute winner. And to think for a while it looked like Bournemouth’s young keeper Mark Travers, making some fine early saves, would be the story. Football, huh. Bournemouth move up to 12th on 45 points. If they win their last game at Crystal Palace, they’ll beat their Premier League record points total of 46. Spurs meanwhile continue to sweat on Champions League qualification. On 70 points in third, they’ve still got four points over fifth-placed Arsenal and five over sixth-placed Manchester United ... but should those rivals win this weekend, the nerves will jangle next Sunday. Just the small matter of Ajax next!
FULL TIME: Bournemouth 1-0 Tottenham Hotspur
Does anybody want to finish third or fourth?
90 min +5: ... Moura himself skies a bicycle kick over. Alli and Wilson had been wrestling. Alli wants a penalty, but he’s not getting one. He’s livid. It looked like some 50-50 nonsense, but who’d be a referee?
90 min +4: Moura skedaddles down the right and wins a corner. From which ...
90 min +3: It threatens to boil over. A full and frank philosophical dispute in the midfield between Lerma and Alli. A booking for both.
90 min +2: Bournemouth cavort in delight. That’s a sickener for Spurs. Wanyama is booked for a frustrated barge on Smith.
GOAL! Bournemouth 1-0 Tottenham Hotspur (Ake 90+1)
Heartbreak for the nine men, who have battled so hard! The corner’s swung into the mixer. Ake comes in behind Alli and Eriksen and blasts a header home from six yards! It hadn’t been coming ... but there it is.
90 min: Mousset dribbles his way down the left and earns a corner. Before it can be taken, the clock ticks over the 90 and there will be four added minutes.
89 min: Bournemouth finally pin Spurs back again. King works down the left to earn a corner. From the set piece, Mousset heads towards the bottom right but Rose hooks off the line. The ball’s bundled out for a corner on the right. From that one, there’s a scramble in the six-yard box, but again Spurs hold firm and clear their lines.
87 min: Bournemouth have run out of ideas, though. Spurs have been excellent in this second half, since going down to nine men. They’ve battled bravely, and played cleverly. It’s the away fans who are making the most noise as a result.
85 min: ... no, no fairytale. But in the circumstances, a point would be a fine result for Spurs, even though it wouldn’t guarantee them Champions League football next season. They’d be very close.
84 min: Moura tears past Simpson on the right and considers shooting from a tight angle. He decides to check back instead, looking to pull one back for Alli. He can’t find his team-mate. But Spurs come again through Moura, who again pulses down the flank, this time earning a corner off Cook. From which ...
82 min: Moussa Sissoko is replaced by Ben Davies. That looks like a precautionary measure, as Sissoko had recently gone over in a tangle with Lerma, the latter accidentally landing on his outstretched leg. Sissoko isn’t limping, but Spurs aren’t taking any chances with the man who kept his team in the Champions League semi after coming on last Tuesday against Ajax.
80 min: Space for Fraser out on the right. Fraser whips it in, and Mousset rises in a large gap between Trippier and Sissoko. He should do much better than flashing a header straight at Lloris.
79 min: BREAKING NEWS: Travers touches the ball. What a surreal debut he’s had.
77 min: Mousset’s first act is to flash a wild shot miles right of the goal. On the touchline, it’s Eddie Howe’s turn to look agitated. Mauricio Pochettino has long slipped into a resigned funk.
76 min: Jordan Ibe is replaced by Lys Mousset.
75 min: Lerma and Rose have a childish spat over possession of a dead ball. Tempers still on a hair-trigger, it would seem.
73 min: Bournemouth are beginning to push Spurs back now. They probe hither and yon. Suddenly Ibe strides in from the left and launches a diagonal riser towards the top right. Lloris is behind it all the way, parrying out for a goal kick that’s cleared easily enough.
71 min: Wilson busies himself in the middle of a penalty box melee. The ball breaks right to Clyne, who appears to have started goal-hanging in the playground style. Clyne spins and pulls a shot wide right from six yards.
70 min: Fraser crosses deep from the right. Lloris claims with ease, because there’s only Wilson in the box. Not entirely sure why Bournemouth aren’t throwing more men forward, given the circumstances.
69 min: Fraser glides in from the right and curls a cross onto the head of Clyne, who eyebrows a header wide left from 12 yards. Lloris hasn’t had that much to do since Spurs went down to nine men.
67 min: Wilson moves down the left flank and opens his body to shoot. He’s looking for the curler, but it’s deflected out for a corner, on the right this time. The set piece finds Smith 25 yards out. Smith shoots over wildly against his former club.
65 min: Another corner for Bournemouth on the left. Sissoko clanks this one clear. They’re holding out relatively comfortably at the moment, all told.
63 min: A corner for Bournemouth down the left. Lloris goes up to punch, and is bundled over by Simpson. A free kick, nothing more. The away fans amuse themselves with an ironic chant of “Off! Off! Off!” Very droll. Unless I’m misinterpreting it, and they want the out-of-form keeper to be subbed.
62 min: Have reports of Tottenham’s demise been exaggerated? The nine men enjoy a period of possession in the Bournemouth half. At one point, Alli very nearly finds space to shoot just inside the box. But he can’t quite get a shot away. So much for Travers’ busy debut.
60 min: More sterile possession for Bournemouth. Spurs will be happy enough with this. “A lot’s been said about the lack of depth in the Spurs squad this year,” begins Justin Kavanagh. “Maybe playing with diminishing numbers is Pochettino’s novel way of resting players ahead of the big game against Ajax without risking further injuries?” A cunning plan, though of course the poor buggers left out there for the second half will be doubly knackered after playing this half with only eight other team-mates. So it’s swings and roundabouts.
58 min: Fraser works away down the left again, a couple of times, but can’t find a team-mate with his final ball. It’s pretty much all Bournemouth now, as you’d expect.
56 min: Fraser has a lash at goal from a tight angle on the left. Lloris has it covered. A strange atmosphere at this game now. A mixture of testimonial, pre-season friendly, end-of-season irrelevance, 11-v-nine anticipation, and defiance. We ask again: who needs goals?
54 min: I mean, this is a preposterous performance from Spurs. They’re down to nine men, while Eric Dier escaped a second yellow not once but twice. On a related subject, here’s Dave Purcell: “Fairly new soccer fan here in the US. Adopted Spurs after liking how their guys played for England in the World Cup. Starting to understand this whole ‘Spursy’ thing. I live in Cincinnati, where our sports teams perennially suck. Have I signed up for a lifetime of more pain?”
52 min: Ake’s heavy touch in the middle of the park allows Moura to run at Bournemouth for a few seconds. But Lerma picks up possession and draws a foul from an irritated Alli. Shutting the gate after the horse has bolted, of course, but Alli can’t afford to lose the head here.
50 min: That’s beyond farcical. Spurs sent on Foyth partly because Alderweireld was on a yellow and, like Dier, couldn’t be risked. Foyth lasted 125 seconds!
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RED CARD! Foyth (Tottenham Hotspur)
48 min: Spurs should already have been down to nine men. Well, they are now! Foyth loses control of the ball and sticks out a leg. His studs crump onto the knee of Simpson, who falls to the floor in agony. It’s reckless rather than aggressive, but that’s enough for Craig Pawson, who flourishes his red card for the second time today!
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46 min: Ibe skedaddles down the middle of the park and slips the ball to Lerma, who crosses for Fraser. The winger, his back to goal, attempts a Mark Hughesesque bicycle kick, but doesn’t connect.
And we’re off again! Bournemouth get the second half underway, against the ten men of Tottenham. Mauricio Pochettino has made two changes, hooking Toby Alderweireld and the hapless Eric Dier, sending on Juan Foyth and Victor Wanyama in their stead. “This performance by Craig Pawson must have folks wondering what game he’s watching. It also must have them wondering where Mark Clattenburg is. Well, I have the answer to that one! I just flipped on ESPN+ and lo and behold he is reffing the Guangzhou Evergrande v Beijing Sinobo Guoan game as we speak. Come back, Clatts!” JR in Illinois there. I’m not sure he really means it, though. He can’t really mean it.
Half-time news. Celtic are 45 minutes away from securing their eighth successive Scottish title. Michael Butler has the latest here!
HALF TIME: Bournemouth 0-0 Tottenham Hotspur
No goals. But who needs goals? Debut keeper Mark Travers has made a series of excellent saves. He could have conceded an effort from the halfway line. Son Heung-min has been sent off, Eric Dier should have been, and Bournemouth should have had a penalty that wasn’t given. That’s all. More entertainment like this in the second half, please!
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45 min +1: A couple of corners for Bournemouth out on the right. Simpson flashes a header straight at Lloris. Spurs desperately need the half-time whistle in order to regroup. On the touchline, Mauricio Pochettino seethes quietly. That’s the most dangerous sort of seethe, isn’t it. Pity the Spurs players for what they’re about to face.
45 min: Spurs really should be down to nine men. I have no idea how Dier is still on the pitch.
RED CARD! Son (Tottenham Hotspur)
44 min: Spurs have been getting frustrated, and now Son, of all folk, boils over! He bustles with Lerma and Fraser down the left, but can’t break clear. He eventually loses control, and concedes a free kick. Lerma grabs the loose ball. Son swipes for it, then shoves Lerma in the face! He’s off! That is beyond stupid.
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42 min: Wilson cutely turns away from a couple of white shirts out on the left. He feeds King, who bustles towards the byline and into the box. He looks for Wilson, who has continued his run towards the near post. Wilson prepares to take possession, but is swiped from behind by none other than Dier. That’s as clear a penalty as you’ll see, but the hapless referee gives nothing. Dear lord.
40 min: The resulting corner comes to nothing. Then in the midfield, Ake tries to break past Sissoko and is dragged back. The Spurs man is booked, to many a sarcastic cheer from the home faithful.
38 min: The ref’s having a shocker here, his noggin has gone completely. King is sent clear down the right, but can’t poke the ball past the advancing Lloris ... who then barges him over as the ball squirts out for a corner. That’s a fairly blatant check, and a more-than-fair shout for a penalty, but nothing’s forthcoming.
36 min: That looked like a red card. Dier clipped his man. Bournemouth’s mood sours further as Ibe prepares to race down the left with Spurs light at the back. Son is down injured, so the referee stops the game, performing the international mime for head injury. But Son’s clutching his chest!
34 min: Dier is robbed of possession, 25 yards from the Bournemouth goal. King races off with the ball. Dier gives hot pursuit, and slides in recklessly from behind. King goes over. Dier’s already been booked, and this looks like serious trouble for the Spurs midfielder ... but the referee doesn’t even give the foul! Bournemouth and their fans are beyond livid.
33 min: Yet another fine save by Travers! Rose whips a cross in from the left. Alli rises and slams a header goalwards. It’s straight at the keeper but travelling at speed, and still needs saving. It’s tipped over sensationally, and the dream debut continues.
32 min: Son makes a half-hearted request for a penalty as he tries to hook a Trippier pass down the right around Simpson. Nope.
31 min: King bursts down the right and nearly opens Spurs up, but is forced to check back. Then up the other end, Son wheechs down the inside left channel and from the left of the D, fires recklessly over the bar. He should have at least worked Travers.
29 min: Bournemouth calm it all down with some sterile possession in the middle of the park. They needed a break.
27 min: Son embarks on a baroque ramble down the right. He tinkles along the byline, then cuts back upfield and wanders around the box. There’s no gap to shoot through, and eventually he tries to tee up Rose on the penalty spot, but Fraser sticks out a boot to hook clear.
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25 min: Rose hoicks a long pass down the left, and Moura is clear! So simple! Where on earth was the Bournemouth back line?! But no matter, because Moura slams his shot straight at Travers from a tight angle, and the keeper saves brilliantly with his feet! This is already quite the eventful debut.
24 min: Fraser floats the free kick into the mixer. King tries to flick a header on, but Moura clears. That delivery wasn’t up to much. A chance to work Lloris for the first time spurned.
23 min: Eriksen, who has been out of sorts so far this week, is robbed by King. The Bournemouth man zips away down the left, and is about to tear clear from Alderweireld when the defender cynically flips him over. That’s another booking for Spurs, and a chance to load the box for Bournemouth.
21 min: Spurs are beginning to dominate possession after a fairly equal start. It’s the away fans making the most noise right now.
19 min: The ball is flat. The ref wants a replacement ... but there isn’t one to hand. So for now, we continue with this flaccid orb. And Spurs nearly score with it! Sissoko makes his way down the right and passes infield for Moura. Simpson misses a chance to hack clear and Moura is away! He reaches the edge of the box and whistles a rising shot straight at Travers, who saves as he should, though it’s one for the showreel nevertheless. A spectacular looker, and that’ll further boost the young man’s confidence. The resulting corner comes to nothing.
17 min: Fraser crosses from the right but Alderweireld clears. Dier nearly slips Alli away down the left but Cook steps in. This is good high-speed fun, the ball pinballing around in fancy fashion.
15 min: Alli spins adroitly, away from Cook down the inside left. He opens his legs, moves into space, and hammers a rising shot towards the top left. Travers, at full stretch, tips the ball round the post. A fine effort with a save to match. The corner comes to nowt. It’s been an eventful first quarter of an hour in Mark Travers’ Premier League career.
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13 min: There will be goals in this game, surely. It’s wide open. Trippier makes good down the right and curls a cross onto Moura’s head. Moura flicks a header wide left, but it wasn’t a million miles away from the top corner. Travers probably had it covered, to be fair.
12 min: Fraser drives at the Spurs defence. He’s upended by Dier, who is booked for his trouble. Fraser gets up and takes the resulting free kick himself, sending a weak effort wide right.
10 min: Travers gathers Son’s ball from the right. He blows out hard. That’ll calm him down after such a fright.
8 min: Bournemouth’s young keeper Mark Travers scored a goal from inside his own half on debut for Weymouth. He very nearly concedes a similar one on his debut for the Cherries! Lucas Moura robs Lerma on the halfway line and goes for goal, Travers having been caught wandering around miles outside his area. If it’s on target, it’s a goal, Travers never getting to it. But it’s not going to be a nightmare start to his Premier League career, as the ball drifts inches wide left. Phew.
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7 min: Clyne plays a dangerous ball across the face of his own area, right to left. Cook does extremely well to block Son, who was threatening to latch onto the ball and run free down the inside left.
6 min: Another throw for Spurs out on the left, deep in Bournemouth’s half. Rose takes an age over it, then launches it back towards his fellow defenders. These throws will surely get better.
5 min: Ibe turns beautifully in the midfield and runs hard at the Spurs back line. He feeds Fraser on the right; the resulting cross is no use. But there was a lot of space for Bournemouth to work in there. It’ll give them heart going forward.
3 min: Eriksen nearly sets Alli clear with a raking pass down the inside-right channel, but Cook and Simpson are on hand to close the door. A nice open feel to this one already.
2 min: Son miskicks out on the Spurs left and nearly allows Lerma to sprint off with the ball. Instead it’s a throw to the hosts, from which Lerma loops a pass into the box intended for King. Sanchez gets in the road to snuff out the danger.
And we’re off! Spurs get the ball rolling. It’s sunny down south, but there’s a breeze whirling around. The visitors are quickly on the front foot, earning a throw deep in enemy territory on the left ... but Rose flings it straight out for a goal kick. Onwards and upwards.
The teams are out! Bournemouth in the shirts pictured previously, iconic Dickie Dowsett crest and all. Spurs are in their first-choice white, the famous cockerel on their breast. Anticipation crackles around Dean Court; we’ll be off in a minute or two!
Eddie Howe has his say. “We rate Mark Travers very highly. He’s a really great character, has a great attitude, is a great goalkeeper, has good potential. So we think this is an ideal game for him to show us what he is capable of. We are desperate to end on a high note, it’s been a strange season with ups and downs, so we’d like to end on a good note in front of our own supporters. We will get the very best Tottenham, so we have to be at our absolute best.”
A determined Mauricio Pochettino speaks to Sky Sports. “We know very well what we are playing for. It is important to win games. We are ready, today is an important day. Always I put out a strong team to play. Tottenham is a strong team. We will do our job with the right attitude. The most important game is today. Afterwards we will think about the second leg of the Champions League.”
It’s Bournemouth’s last home game of the season. So naturally they’ll be wearing next season’s kit for the first time today. It’s how clubs roll these days. And here it is, already flying off the shelves in the club shop.
A word on Mark Travers. The young keeper gets his first run-out for the Cherries today. While this will be his Premier League debut, he’s already had a taste of international football, sort of, sitting on the bench for the Republic of Ireland in the Euro 2020 qualifiers against Gibraltar and Georgia. He’s also played for Weymouth on loan, marking his debut for the Southern Premier League side by scoring from inside his own half. And there’s you thinking David Beckham announced himself in style.
Four changes to the Bournemouth XI that drew 3-3 with Southampton last week. The 19-year-old third-choice keeper Mark Travers makes his debut, Artur Boruc dropping to the bench. Chris Mepham also drops to the sub bench, while David Brooks and Ryan Gosling are injured. Jordan Ibe, Adam Smith and Ryan Fraser step up.
Spurs name a strong side, with just three changes to the team sent out for the first leg of the Champions League semi with Ajax. Jan Vertonghen is of course injured, while Victor Wanyama and Fernando Llorente drop to the bench. Eric Dier, Moussa Sissoko and Son Heung-min take their places.
The teams
Bournemouth: Travers, Clyne, Steve Cook, Simpson, Smith, Ibe, Lerma, Ake, Fraser, King, Wilson.
Subs: Boruc, Mousset, Hyndman, Taylor, Mepham, Surridge, Ofoborh.
Tottenham Hotspur: Lloris, Trippier, Sanchez, Alderweireld, Rose, Dier, Sissoko, Alli, Eriksen, Son, Lucas Moura.
Subs: Janssen, Wanyama, Llorente, Foyth, Gazzaniga, Davies, Skipp.
Referee: Craig Pawson (South Yorkshire).
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Preamble
Tottenham Hotspur haven’t secured a top-four finish yet. They’re not necessarily in the best shape to make the Champions League final either. Still, what a difference five days could make. Son Heung-min will be back from suspension for Wednesday night’s semi-final second leg against Ajax ... but let’s not get ahead of ourselves. Three points against Bournemouth this lunchtime will guarantee top-level continental football next season whatever happens in Amsterdam next week.
There are some issues here, however. Spurs might have beaten the Cherries 5-0 at Wembley back in October, but they’ve won just one of their last nine away matches. They’ve also lost four of their last five matches in all competitions, and the one victory during that miserable sequence was a late scrape against Brighton & Hove Albion, who, well, y’know. Spurs will take succour from the fact that Bournemouth have lost their last two at home – against Burnley and Fulham for goodness sake – and haven’t won at Dean Court since January. Then again, that was a 4-0 belting of Chelsea, so take care Tottenham.
Given that Spurs won 4-1 here last year, and have scored 14 goals against the Cherries in the teams’ last four meetings, this should be a shoo-in. But, hey, football. And who knows which team Mauricio Pochettino will pick ahead of their bid to reach the biggest event in club football. Which only leads to one conclusion ... it’s on!
Kick-off: 12.30pm BST.
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