Journalist Alasdair Gold has revealed what left him fuming on the sidelines as Tottenham fell to a 2-1 defeat to Newcastle United on Sunday.
Spurs suffer first defeat of the season

A late goal from Alexander Isak ensured that Tottenham suffered their first Premier League loss of the season as they were beaten 2-1 by Newcastle United at St James’ Park.

The winning goal for the home side came after a sustained spell of pressure from Tottenham, who dominated much of the ball after equalising and looked certain to find a winner. It was a tough loss for Spurs and Postecoglou to swallow, as he made clear in the aftermath of the game.

Another one that got away from us. We played well enough, certainly had the chances to win the game comfortably but you walk away with nothing, so [it’s a] bitter pill to swallow but it is what it is,” the Spurs head coach explained.

We created chances and if you don’t get the second goal when you have the momentum…

“I thought we were in control of the game, we were playing in their half. The ‘keeper’s pulled off a couple of really good saves. We had the opportunities to test him even further but we didn’t.

The amount of chances we have, we really should be getting more than what we’re getting as a return at the moment.”

The result leaves Tottenham 10th in the Premier League heading into the international break, while their next game pits them up against north London rivals Arsenal at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.

But there was one moment that Postecoglou particularly disliked during their trip to St James’ Park.

Postecoglou left fuming by booking

That came late in the second half, with his side chasing the game and susceptible to the counter-attack. As Anthony Gordon raced away down the left touchline, he was met by a firm sliding challenge by Rodrigo Bentancur, with the Uruguayan appearing to make strong contact with the ball.

The referee thought otherwise, penalising the Tottenham substitute and dishing out a yellow card for good measure.

The decision, dubbed “woeful” by Tottenham journalist Alasdair Gold, left Postecoglou perplexed and irate, and Gold added that the Spurs boss “made his feelings known” to both the referee and fourth official.

Though an improvement on the 4-0 thrashing that Spurs suffered last season at St James’ Park, the defeat raises many of the same questions about Postecoglou’s side, chiefly their inefficiency in both penalty areas, which is sure to cost them throughout the season unless they can find a fix, sharpish.

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Micky Van de Ven missed Newcastle defeat

Van de Ven picked up a knock towards the end of the first half against Everton and even though the Dutchman was seemingly moving without any discomfort in the second half of that game, the injury eventually saw him sidelined for Tottenham’s trip to St James’ Park.

The 23-year-old’s absence was certainly felt, with the Magpies managing to get in behind Spurs’ high backline on a few occasions, most notably for Alexander Isak’s goal on 78 minutes, which gave the home side all three points.

Ange Postecoglou clarified in his post-match press conference that Van de Ven’s injury is not serious and that the defender was ‘close’ to being fit for Sunday’s clash (Football.London).