by Ange Postecoglou criticized an “unacceptable” second-half performance from Tottenham in their 3-2 defeat at Brighton, admitting it was the worst defeat of his tenure at the club.
Spurs were on course for their sixth consecutive win in all competitions when Brennan Johnson and James Maddison gave them a 2-0 lead at the Amex Stadium before half-time.
That took Johnson to six goals in six games, but the Seagulls were transformed after the break when Yankuba Minteh reduced the deficit in the 48th minute.
The impressive Georginio Rutter equalized 10 minutes later with a fine finish before former Arsenal striker Danny Welbeck completed the comeback when he headed home for the winner after 66 minutes.
While Tottenham put in a dominant performance in the first half, they were the second best team after that and appeared to be a shadow of the team that came into this game after nice away wins at Manchester United and Ferencvaros.
“This is probably the most disappointing defeat I’ve ever suffered since I’ve been here, judging by the way we went about it, and I have to judge that,” Postecoglou said after his 51st game as Spurs coach.
“We didn’t do what you have to do at this level, that’s kind of non-negotiable. We just weren’t competitive.
“We didn’t win our duels, we lacked intensity, we didn’t deliver what you need at this level, the fundamentals of the game, and we paid the price for that.”
“Where it comes from, it doesn’t matter, it’s irrelevant. Ultimately it is unacceptable.
“You can somewhat understand that you don’t win every game, but there are ways in which you lose games.
“And this is the first time since I’ve been here that we’ve lost the game like this. And as I said, unacceptable.
“I can do a lot about it. That’s why I’m in the role. If I couldn’t do anything about it, I would ask someone else to sit here.”
Spurs started like a train in Brighton with Timo Werner, Dejan Kulusevski and Maddison unable to make the most of openings within the first 10 minutes.
The visitors actually took the lead after 23 minutes when Dominic Solanke slipped through Johnson, who continued his winning streak with a great left-footed shot.
After Welbeck sent a shot wide shortly afterwards, Tottenham took a 2-0 lead when Werner countered for Maddison and his low shot went through the hands of Bart Verbruggen.
Johnson could have scored a third before half-time, but Brighton coach Fabian Hurzeler sent on Pervis Estupinan at half-time and the left-back immediately combined with Kaoru Mitoma Minteh to fire it home.
The 48th minute try came after an error from Destiny Udogie and the Seagulls equalized after 58 minutes when Mitoma Rutter played into the bottom corner.
Welbeck completed the comeback after great wing play from Rutter, who got ahead of Udogie and Rodrigo Bentancur and headed past former England international Welbeck from close range after 66 minutes.
Hurzeler downplayed his role in the comeback, saying: “I’m really proud of the team’s reaction because even at half-time they took responsibility, they showed character, they showed personality and the reaction in the second half was great.”
“We have great characters in the team. Ultimately it’s my responsibility to help the team stay positive, find the right words, find the right solutions, but to be honest in the second half it was the players’ play.
“They deserved it, they worked hard, they were more ruthless, they were more intense and they worked hard for the goals.”
