Mauricio Pochettino has denied his six changes cost us victory in our 1-1 draw at Brighton.
Pochettino rotated his squad for Tuesdays visit to the Amex Stadium, with an FA Cup semi-final against Manchester United to come on Saturday, however our stubborn hosts earned a deserved point to leave us off the pace in the race for second.
However Pochettino denied those changes had been the cause of our inability to win the game, despite dropping points after scoring the opening goal for only the second time this season.
“Today was not because we rotated the team,”;Pochettino said afterwards. “Everyone is ready to play but Brighton were very difficult opponents and we need to give credit to them.The first half was even and the second half we started really well. We scored and then in the next action we conceded. In the second half we dominated and created chances but not enough to win the game. We are a little bit disappointed with the draw because the intention was to win and get the three points but in the end it was 1-1.”
Serge Aurier conceded a soft penalty immediately after Harry Kane had put us ahead, but Pochettino didn’t question referee Kevin Friend’s decision to award the kick: I don’t know. For me it’s so difficult,”:he said. “We suffered on Saturday one penalty, now a second consecutive penalty. Yes, disappointed for this situation.
“Only we can get one point. It’s so difficult through the TV – for the referee it’s even more difficult.”
Have something to tell us about this article?
