Bournemouth denied by late VAR decision in draw with Spurs

Bournemouth were denied a late winner when VAR ruled the ball struck Joshua King’s arm

Bournemouth thought they had snatched a significant win in their bid to avoid relegation but were denied after Callum Wilson’s overhead kick was ruled out by the video assistant referee.

Wilson’s acrobatic stoppage-time effort struck Joshua King’s arm on the way into the Tottenham net.

The Cherries can take positives from ending a five-game losing run to earn a draw against Spurs but remain in the drop zone, three points from a position of safety.

A point also does little to further Spurs’ European ambitions, though the visitors felt they should have had a penalty for a push on forward Harry Kane.

Kane did not have a touch in the opposition box until the 78th minute as a lacklustre Spurs side failed to register a shot on target.

Bournemouth substitute Harry Wilson forced Hugo Lloris into a late save while King had earlier put the ball in the net from close range, but Stanislas was offside earlier in the move.

There was also concern for Cherries defender Adam Smith, who was carried off on a stretcher following lengthy treatment after suffering a head injury in a heavy collision with Ben Davies.

Erik Lamela glanced a header wide in Tottenham’s only real chance of note, with their early penalty appeal Jose Mourinho side’s best chance of breaking the deadlock.

Kane appeared to be shoved in the back by King from a corner but VAR looked at the incident and decided it was not a foul.

It leaves Tottenham ninth, one point behind north London rivals Arsenal, who they face on Sunday.

Can Cherries conjure escape act?

Bournemouth boss Eddie Howe says his love for the club is the driving factor behind his desire to extend their five-year stay in the top flight, having guided the Cherries from the fourth tier to the Premier League over two spells as manager.

After his side shipped nine goals in their previous two outings, the 42-year-old will take comfort in a clean sheet and a point against last year’s Champions League finalists.

But it could have been more for the hosts, had Callum Wilson’s effort not clipped team-mate King’s arm on its way into the net deep into stoppage time.

There was still time for namesake Harry to engineer a glorious chance to win it for Howe’s outfit, but the on-loan Liverpool winger fired straight at Tottenham goalkeeper Lloris.

It means Bournemouth remain three points behind 17th-placed Watford with four games to play.

Howe’s passion has seen the Cherries scale previously unthinkable heights, but they realistically need to win two of their remaining fixtures – against Leicester, Manchester City, rivals Southampton and Everton – to stay in the top flight.

Spurs fail to trouble struggling hosts

The video assistant referee said King’s shove on Harry Kane did not warrant a penalty

Tottenham still have a Europa League spot to play for this season, though boss Mourinho’s focus will no doubt already be on the rebuild required for next term.

On the evidence of Thursday’s performance, he has a big job.

Spurs have invested in a new stadium, world-class infrastructure and a high-profile manager but look to be lacking on the pitch compared with their Champions League-chasing rivals.

Chairman Daniel Levy will not want to contemplate an extended absence from Europe’s elite competition and will be expecting Mourinho to rediscover some of the magic that saw him win three Premier League titles to make sure that does not happen.

Spurs were wasteful, lethargic and lacking in ideas in the opening 45 minutes, having just four touches in the opposition box with none of those coming for Kane, who was more involved in his own penalty area.

The club’s record signing, Tanguy Ndombele, had played just 19 minutes since being hauled off at half-time during Spurs’ 1-1 draw at Burnley in March but was thrown on at the break to try to inject some life into the visitors.

The introduction of the £55m midfielder, who has been linked with a move to Barcelona this summer, and forward Son Heung-min did lead to more urgency but Bournemouth were rarely troubled.

Mourinho will no doubt be happy with recording a second successive clean sheet, especially without suspended centre-back Eric Dier, but Spurs’ lack of attacking inventiveness will be worrying.