Southampton raid Spurs as brilliant season peters out

Tottenham Hotspur 1 Southampton 2

Steven Davis had arrived at White Hart Lane with two goals all season for Southampton. The Northern Irishman departed having doubled his tally and driven his club to what had to be considered as a surprise victory. It was deserved and it kept Southampton ticking in their quest for Europa League qualification.

Both of Davis's goals were marked by precision and cuteness, rather than any thumping power and, on both occasions, there could be questions asked of the Tottenham goalkeeper, Hugo Lloris. On the first, which cancelled out Son Heung-min's opener, Davis diverted Dusan Tadic's cross goalwards and, with Lloris slow to react, the ball squirmed home while for the winner, his shot wriggled through a crowd and found the corner. Lloris might have seen it late.

Tottenham knew that victory would have guaranteed second-place but after a strangely subdued second-half performance, they were left to watch Arsenal’s visit to Manchester City at 4pm with greater interest.

Nevertheless, the defeat did not remove too much of the sheen from their post-match lap of appreciation, which merited the more old-fashioned description as one of honour. It has been a tremendous season for Mauricio Pochettino and his players and, no matter what, their place in next season's Champions League group stage is assured. The title might have proved beyond them but there is not a Tottenham supporter who would not have signed up for this last September.

Tottenham went ahead early on and the goal owed much to Son's persistence and composure, together with a split-second of hesitation from Fraser Forster. The Southampton goalkeeper was aware that Harry Kane was in an offside position when Erik Lamela nudged a ball into the area and both Forster and the Tottenham striker stopped; the latter in a more tactical fashion.

Son kept on running. He had played the original pass to Lamela and he got to the ball before Forster and tip-toed around his desperate challenge. On the by-line, Son jinked inside, past a couple of equally last-ditch Southampton tackles before tapping in from point-blank range.

It went down as Lamela’s ninth assist of the league season and Son’s fourth goal. The South Korean has eight in all competitions since his £22m transfer from Bayer Leverkusen last summer. Southampton could argue that if Kane had distracted Forster, then surely he was interfering with play and, therefore, was offside.

Southampton had travelled in fine form, with five wins from their previous seven games, and they might have taken the lead when Sadio Mané played in Tadic. He had Davis unmarked in front of an open goal but he chose to shoot low for the far corner and it flashed wide. Davis was furious.

The Southampton midfielder had advertised his intent and he was in the right place at the right time to equalise. The visitors made inroads behind the Tottenham defence with some slick approach work and it was Tadic, controlling Cuco Marina’s floated ball, who helped to make it 1-1. His low cross was slipped in for Davis, and his first-time finish deceived Lloris.

The first-half was entertaining, and Tottenham could reflect on a number of opportunities that went begging. Danny Rose crossed for Christian Eriksen in the fourth minute, after taking Toby Alderweireld's raking cross-field ball in his stride, but Forster kept out the midfielder's shot while he also denied Kane at close quarters on 45 minutes, after the striker had robbed Jose Fonte. In between times, Kane, Eriksen and Kane again had half-chances.

Southampton were dangerous on the counter, with the pace of Mané and Shane Long, together with the urgency of Davis, a worry for the home team. Mané, though, was replaced on 65 minutes; he had taken a heavy knock from Lamela towards the end of the first-half. His replacement, Graziano Pellè, posed a physical and aerial threat to Tottenham's central defenders.

The second-half was less frenetic, with the space much tighter and the chances fewer. Perhaps, the heat was a factor. There needed to be a drinks break in the 68th minute. Long had headed off target when well placed from Tadic’s cross shortly after the interval and Davis’s second had not been extensively trailed.

It came when he swapped passes with Tadic and moved inside from the left of the area. Confronted by Eric Dier, he continued to skate to the right before he unloaded a shot for the far, bottom corner. It seemed to take an age to get there, through the crowd of bodies but, when it did, he and Southampton could celebrate.

Tottenham failed to turn up in the second-half, which was curious after their attractive performance before the break. There was no incision to their play, no spark and, when Forster blocked from the substitute, Nacer Chadli, in stoppage time, the die was cast.

(Guardian service)