Ange Postecoglou aims subtle dig at Tottenham players after Fulham controversy
Tottenham manager Ange Postecoglou endured another frustrating afternoon on Sunday as his side failed to score in a 2-0 defeat at the hands of Fulham in the Premier League
by Felix Keith · The MirrorAnge Postecoglou was left irritated by his side’s naivety after Tottenham slumped to defeat against Fulham.
Spurs arrived at Craven Cottage on the back of a 3-1 win over AZ Alkmaar which sent them into the quarter-finals of the Europa League. But their inconsistency came back to haunt them as late goals from Rodrigo Muniz and Ryan Sessegnon earned the home side a 2-0 win on Sunday afternoon.
In a match which came down to fine margins, Postecoglou was frustrated that his players couldn’t find the back of the net. Dominic Solanke was guilty of missing three good chances for Spurs, who also had a penalty shout turned down with the score at 1-0.
Lucas Bergvall went down in the area under pressure from Calvin Bassey, but did not convince referee Andy Madley. Postecoglou felt his players didn’t help themselves in the incident and that the moment emphasised their current struggles.
Asked about the penalty appeal, Postecoglou told Sky Sports : "I'll leave that to the officials, but it does seem that the fact we don't carry on hurts us at times.
"It was a difficult game. I don't think any team created too many openings. We probably had the best one at 0-0. Like I said, we conceded a soft goal that gave them the advantage. We made a lot of changes today which I felt might help the team. It's our challenge between now and the end of the season. European football and league games."
He added: "It's a disappointing outcome. I thought up until they scored we were really on top of them. It was a tight game and we hadn't made a save at that point and they scored a really soft goal. Then the game got away from us. It's disappointing. It wasn't a great game. We had a couple of chances to score."
Defeat leaves Spurs 13th in the Premier League and winless in their last three matches in the competition. They are now 11 points adrift of eighth-placed Fulham and are increasingly reliant on the Europa League to provide some solace.
"Both goals were pretty soft,” Postecoglou told Match of the Day. “At the very least you want to stay in the game. I thought in the second half we were the better team and had the best chances up to that point. So to concede is very disappointing.
"It's been a difficult campaign for sure. But I feel we've lost too many games that we should have got stuff out of, and this was one of those games. It's another international break we go into off a loss and you feel that. We just need to make sure we're ready for when we come back."
Join our new WhatsApp communityand receive your daily dose of Mirror Football content. We also treat our community members to special offers, promotions, and adverts from us and our partners. If you don't like our community, you can check out any time you like. If you're curious, you can read our Privacy Notice.
This article contains affiliate links, we will receive a commission on any sales we generate from it. Learn more
Sky Sports deal
Sky Sports launches discounted Premier League package
£35 (was £43)
Sky has slashed the price of its Essential TV and Sky Sports bundle in an unbeatable new deal that saves £192 and includes 1,400 live matches across the Premier League, EFL and more.