West Ham United manager Sam Allardyce launched a scathing attack on referee Jon Moss and accused Tottenham Hotspur's players of gamesmanship after his side blew a two-goal lead in a dramatic 2-2 draw.
Allardyce’s team had surged into a 2-0 lead at White Hart Lane on Sunday through goals from Cheikhou Kouyate and Diafra Sakho, but an error by goalkeeper Adrian allowed Danny Rose to get one back with nine minutes left.
And when in-form striker Harry Kane was fouled in the area by Alex Song in the last moments of stoppage-time, he kept his composure, after his spot-kick was saved, to smash in the rebound for his 24th goal of a breakthrough campaign.
That proved to be the last meaningful kick of the game and Allardyce was left to vent his frustrations at Moss because 54 extra seconds beyond the original five minutes of stoppage-time had been played.
Asked if Moss should have blown for full-time immediately after Adrian had saved the penalty, Allardyce said: “The answer to that is yes, but he wouldn’t be brave enough to do that at home would he?
“He’ll say there was still two seconds to go. He will say when the penalty was taken, there were five seconds left, when the rebound came off there were three second left. So we’re doing NFL now aren’t we? I’d like a time-keeper to be perfectly honest with you.”
Although vexed by his side’s misfortune, Allardyce was also dismayed to see the continuation of his team’s recent habit of letting leads slip late in matches.
“Bad luck today, a bad decision against Manchester United 1-1, poor marking at Swansea 1-1. Poor defending West Brom at home, 1-0 up, 1-1,” he said.
“So there are some areas where we have to be more resilient, but not today, for me. Apart from giving the penalty away, we were doing most things right and there was more luck than talent got Tottenham a point.”
Allardyce grudgingly did not dispute the award of the penalty for Song’s push on Kane, but he was unhappy with the way Tottenham’s players went down too easily throughout the match.
“You can argue whether it’s enough contact from Alex’s arm or whether it’s not, but when you’re desperate like Tottenham are and you get touched, a player’s going to fall over and ask the referee to make a decision,” he said.
“Whether it’s the right decision or not, it’s the way football is today.
“If we’re to learn anything by it, we have to do the same as what Tottenham do more often, because we stay on our feet and don’t get fouls and they get touched and go down and they do get fouls. In the end it’s made a difference.”
Meanwhile, Tottenham manager Mauricio Pochettino praised his team’s character and personality after they staged another late rally.
It was the 13th point Tottenham have won in the final five minutes of Premier League matches this season, and Pochettino was delighted with his side's never-say-die approach.
“We are always confident because we trust our players and we never give up,” he said. “This is important, we showed big character and big personality, and good energy.
“Then in the last 20 minutes it was important for us, it was a big point. It was difficult to play today, it is good to show character. For that we are proud.”
That pride outweighed concerns that Tottenham had failed to win yet again after a midweek Europa League tie, losing ground on some of their rivals for fourth place.
Spurs have failed to record victories in their next match following a midweek European tie on five occasions this season.
“We made a big effort against Fiorentina,” Pochettino said. “We ran a lot. It’s important to know that.”
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