Troubled Cherries ship Five at Spurs
Written By: Robert Halter
Bournemouth had never beaten Tottenham Hotspur in the league and the Lilywhites had not lost in their last six games against the Cherries, who contested a Boxing Day fixture at Wembley stadium. In the fourteenth minute, from Jefferson Lerma’s through ball, an attempted lob by David Brooks was caught in the hands of Hugo Lloris. But it was the Lilywhites that went ahead on sixteen minutes, when from Kyle Walker-Peters assist, the ball was struck low by Christian Eriksen, and as his shot bobbled off Lerma, it deceived Asmir Begovic in the Cherries goal, as the ball went into the bottom right corner. A rejuvenated Spurs went back on the ascendancy a minute later, but from Harry Kane’s delivery, at the foot of the right post, Walker-Peters was unable to apply the finish. But midway through the first half, Spurs doubled their goal tally, after Charlie Daniels carelessly lost control of the ball, which was exposed by Walker-Peters, before a low effort from Heung-Min Son, was drilled into the bottom right corner. The Cherries concerns remained after an aerial battle with Eriksen plus both Lerma and his club captain Simon Francis, which left Francis requiring treatment. In the thirty fifth minute, Spurs steam rolled the Cherries, when a Harry Winks cross was put over by Walker-Peters which left Lucas Moura to apply the final touch, by striking the ball past Begovic, into the left side of the net. In the thirty ninth minute, Brooks sent the ball over to Junior Stanislas on the left part of the box whose low effort was comfortably latched upon by Lloris. Three minute later, as Stanislas drove the ball across the face of the Spurs goal, a favour was returned by Ryan Fraser with a delivery on the right, before a Stanislas cushioned header was caught above the upright by Lloris. Further physiotherapy was required for Francis as he took a double hit first off Moura and then fell awkwardly from a Son challenge, before he left the field on a stretcher and was replaced with Diego Rico. At the end of first half stoppage time, Brooks played in Fraser, whose cross was headed down by Daniels, but Lloris rescued the Lilywhites, as he parried the ball away by stooping down low to make the save. In the fifty fourth minute from Rico’s incisive pass, a sliding Stanislas put the ball into the net, only for lineswoman, Sian Massey-Ellis, to raise the flag for offside. In the next three minutes, Nathan Ake dragged down Moura, and from outside the area, Kane’s free kick went into the reaches of Begovic. In the sixty first minute, Kane was jolly on the spot, when he reacted to Eriksen’s over the top delivery by turning the ball past Begovic with a low left footed strike into the centre of the goal. The Cherries later switched Callum Wilson with Lys Mousset, who could have made an instant impact after just two minutes on the field, but from Rico’s cross, his header went into the outside netting of the left post. It only prompted the Lilywhites to add a fifth in the seventieth minute, when Kane dragged the ball back to Moura, whose shot was spilled by Begovic, only for Son to react by tucking away his shot past Begovic, from short distance into the bottom left corner. A final Cherries change was made when Joshua King replaced Brooks, before Spurs brought on Oliver Skipp for Kane. In the eighty first minute from a miss placed clearance by Juan Foyth, a fierce strike by Daniels, flew past the right post. The Lilywhites then took off Eriksen for Ben Davies before Fernando Llorente appeared for Son, near the end of the match. In stoppage time from a delivery by Lerma, on the volley, Rico smacked the ball over the top, and then as Cook drove the ball in, Stanislas miscued the ball behind the back of the left post, but it was Tottenham Hotspur who were in cruise control with a crushing 5-0 demolition of Bournemouth to move Spurs up to second place behind Liverpool while the Cherries dropped down to the lower half of the table.