Very much a game of two halves at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium as Saints dominated the first and then struggled in the second.

It is very easy these days to rant and rave about Saints, no one can deny that the last few months have been unacceptable, although they have also seen us reach and FA Cup semi final and lose narrowly to one of the top teams in the Premier League this season.

But last night's defeat at Spurs probably had everything that has been good or bad about this season in the space of 90 minutes.

Ralph Hasenhuttl rang the changes, five to be exact from the starting XI at Wembley on Sunday and for the first half they appeared to be working, we dominated the game and had several chances to take the lead including a superb double save from Lloris in the home goal.

When Danny Ings glanced home a header in the 30th minute things were looking good, but there were already some ominous signs on the horizon, and for all our possession we just didn't seem to have luck on our side, the ball wasn't bouncing for us.

The second half saw Spurs start to dominate, but for all their possession in the main we defended well and looked quite comfortable, but the game swung in the 57th minute when Danny Ings had a shot and pulled up immediately and went off.

Three minutes later and we were behind and it took an exceptional goal from ex Saint Gareth Bale to put things level.

Clearly we were now feeling the pace having played a tough game at Wembley only three days earlier where Spurs had had five days rest, but they didn't overrun us, they had plenty of the ball but they rarely threatened Alex McCarthy's goal, the defence was covering him well and Mohamed Salisu at left back was coping in the main with Bale.

There was a scare when Spurs appeared to have scored, but it was quite rightly ruled out with a home player clearly impeding the view of McCarthy.

But as we entered the last 4 minutes of the game we appeared to have weathered the storm, but then came a moment of madness when we failed to clear the ball properly and Moussa Djenepo made a rash challenge on the edge of the box which was originally given outside, VAR spent a lot of time debating and called the ref to make a decision and he rued inside, truthfully I couldn't tell having watched it maybe 10 times on a wide screen tv so not sure how the ref could give it.

That meant that an incident in the 86th minute saw a penalty converted just before the 90, it's gone now, but VAr should be there to sort out the obvious not spend 3 minutes or more drawing lines, VAR is a good thing, but it has to be accepted it is there to sort out 75% of controversial incidents quickly and not spent a lot of time looking at the other 25%.

The penalty was despatched and we lost the game and it would be easy to go on to social media and start the aftermath ranting.

But it should be noted that given the circumstances Saints put up a battle against a team chasing a Champions League spot and almost got there, if we had got to the fina whistle and drawn it would have been seen as a good result, perhaps a corner turned.

But a rash challenge on the edge of the area changed the game and suddenly we go from a decent point to ranting about the manager's ability to pick and motivate a team.

I don't blame Djenepo, he had to make the challenge it was just rash, but the game is littered with moments like this where a moment of madness costs points and costs managers their jobs.

If we take a good look at what went on I would say this, it was a game of two halves as previously stated, in the second we were on the back foot a lot, but we kept our shape and didn't let the overrun us , they had three shots on target during the entire game, we weren't hanging on, we were running on empty but we kept running and kept battling, James Ward Prowse covered 12 kilometres, that is over 7 miles.

Yes at times we gave the ball away too much and that didn't help but in the main we played as a team and when we lost the ball we got behind it and made sure we didn't pay the price.

Ralph Hasenhuttl must be tearing his hair out, what can he do, this team last night were playing for the manager and put in the effort, but we just don't seem to have luck on our side.

I still believe in Ralph, we have to get through to the end of the season and pick up a few more points that gets us over the line and safe from lingering relegation fears, we are quite capable of doing that.

It is what it is, we now have to start to look towards next season, we know the squad has some weak links, but in the main we have individual players out of form, not individual players who are out of their depth.

Unlike the West Brom defeat where there was little to praise, this was a game that showed that we still have what it takes, but we ran out of steam in the second half, we have to ask why, perhaps we have had to wrap players in cotton wool during the injury crisis when we were down to the bare bones, perhaps we have not been able to train with the same intensity and that has lead to a lack of stamina.

But we have to get up dust ourselves down and move on, if only for the fact that it is all we can do, we can moan about the things that we can't change, but we need to concentrate on those we can.

Photo: Action Images

ElijahK added 18:13 - Apr 22 Dorset fan: I don’t get why your going on about Redmond or Minamino as nether of them are that good, especially the likes of Redmond! But yeah ok I’ll agree that N’lundelu could’ve come on, but the point is that we shouldn’t have to rely on youth players to come on and save the say as really we should have at least one experienced decent backup striker for a PL game!

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grumpy added 18:51 - Apr 22 I thought Spurs were poor particularly in the first half and if Adams had scored as he should have instead of shooting straight at their goalkeeper we should have gone in at half time 2-0 up. The trouble is we run out of steam as the game wears on, and as the opposition gets stronger we play most of the second half in our half. Its no good saying ' it was good performance' if we keep on losing.

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TimSaint added 21:30 - Apr 22 What happened is what usually happens in our games this year. We don't score enough of our chances and we always present the opposition with gifts that they usually take. This 2nd half of the season has showed that we are a predictable, slow, easy to play against team. Let us press you, then we tire and the game is there for the taking - just be patient and we will gift you guilt edged chances. Score against us and our heads drop and we lose confidence. We may make a few late subs, but they rarely have any impact. Wholesale changes required throughout the team this summer. We all know it probably won't happen.

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DorsetIan added 22:02 - Apr 22 ElijahK. As I said, it doesn't matter how good Redmond or Minamino would have been, bringing either of them would not have disrupted the midfield. Losing Danny already weakened the forward line. Bringing on Diallo meant that Ralph weakened the midfield too! I agree that our squad is thin. I've been saying this for months - down to Gao's lack of spending. But that doesn't mean that Ralph has to sabotage things even more.

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AmericanSaint added 01:04 - Apr 23 Ok, so I am as a frustrated as most of you and this season has been a bumpy ride. As you can see in the posts there is a lot of passion for our club and this forum allows you to voice it good or bad. I am trying to figure out this last game and I think I may have discovered our potentially fundamental flaw in RH game tactics. In the 1st half Spuds were playing their typical ball control (side-to-side etc.) and that allowed our pressing game to flourish. Then in the second half, they abandoned that and move purely to one-touch ball and straight at us. This bypassed our trapping zones and exposed our wings. I am not saying that this is all the problems, as I agree as someone said we are lightweight in midfield. I know RH doesn't want older players but we could use some stout veterans who have won hardware to help shore up games and bring a winning mentality. I think the players get depressed fast the moment we lose a lead. This needs to change somehow and I think some veterans would help greatly. Next, while some are arguing why we didn't do a like-for-like swap when Ingsy got hurt (again), I think RH was trying to solidify the midfield, but then he should have gone to a 4-5-1 and bottle the midfield. I think this is where Ralph got it wrong. Next, in the 2nd half we gave the ball away stupidly so many time I lost count after 18. Nobody was talking and without fans, it's easy to hear people yelling etc. I do not think we should sign Walcott unless it is for pennies. He was so missing in action, I thought we were playing with 10 men the 1st half. Also, people are slamming Djenepo and it is easy to do, but I watched the replay (multiple times) from the back view and it is clear that the Spuds player kicked Djenepo. The side view of the replay makes it look like Djenepo take his foot out prior to the shot (and yes on the line). But then if that was the case, how does the ball go to the right of our goalpost? Enough of that. Finally, I know Nick doesn't like this, but I think our main problem and why we will never progress is our owner. All the excuses will be made (the club needs to be self sustaining, blah, blah, blah), but he is responsible for not investing in the team. He bought this to be a show piece for his sports program/company in China and now that his empire has collapsed, he is trying to greedy for extra $20M during a potential sale. I know there are internal pressures he cant control, but he is not suited to be a PL owner. I suspect that this summer, RH will meet with the board and ask to sell 4-6 players and want 10. He will be told he can have 4-5 depending on how we sell and to promote from the ranks. This will cause RH to rethink his time at our club and when a decent club comes for him, he will walk. If BM come calling as suggested in the papers, he will walk no matter what and then many will be like "why?" and the simple answer will the owner and his lack of ambition and funds for the club. I know some of you will say good riddance, but be careful what you wish for as many on this site wanted Ms. Leiberr to sell and she did and look who we got now. The grass isnt always greener on the other side of the fence. Well only time will tell what happens, but I hope we can turn the corner and find a few positives and win a game or two before the season ends. COYR

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DorsetIan added 10:42 - Apr 23 American Saint. Now THAT is what you call a balanced view. Spot on. And I agree with what Ralph was trying to do with the Diallo sub, but why disrupt two things when one is bad enough, especially by bringing back on a player who had been rightly rested and who was not on great form. I realise that I am banging on about this sub, but I think it might be the straw that broke the camel's back for me when it comes to Ralph and his tactical failures.

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AmericanSaint added 01:31 - Apr 24 DorsetIan - I see your point as well and yes, at that point, I probably would have done a like for like. I think we have to re-asses some of our players and it will now be up to the board.
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stmichael added 17:06 - Apr 25 An article film of excuses and I’m sick of hearing them. We are stuck in a losers mentality and have basically improved a little because instead of playing crap and losing we can now play reasonably ok and still Lose. But ultimately we lose because we are losers 🤷‍♂️
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