Southampton draw with Spurs to stay in bottom three

Tuesday, 23 January 2018 00:00 - - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}}

Reuters: Southampton were left in the Premier League’s bottom three after losing an early lead to draw 1-1 at home to fifth-placed Tottenham Hotspur on Sunday.

Despite having gone 10 league games without a win and losing 5-2 at Spurs four weeks ago, Southampton started brightly and deservedly went ahead after quarter of an hour.

Ryan Bertrand overlapped powerfully down the left and from his low cross Tottenham’s Colombian defender Davinson Sanchez diverted the ball past his goalkeeper Michel Vorm, who was deputising for Hugo Lloris.

It took Harry Kane barely three minutes to equalise, rising to head in a corner by Ben Davies and register his 99th Premier League goal.

There could have been more goals before halftime in tricky conditions as both defences struggled to adapt.

Two Argentine coaches, Mauricio Pellegrino and Mauricio Pochettino, turned to their substitutes’ benches in an attempt to liven up the later stages.

Tottenham had needed a two-goal win to move into fourth place above Liverpool, who visit Swansea City on Monday.

It became a frustrating day for them in the end, Pochettino failing to complete a hat-trick of wins at the ground where he made his name in English football as Southampton manager in the 2013-14 season.