Saturday 10 January 2015 21:51, UK
Tottenham Hotspur manager Mauricio Pochettino questioned the awarding of a ‘key’ penalty to Crystal Palace after his side were beaten 2-1 at Selhurst Park.
The visitors took the lead early in the second half when Harry Kane continued his fine goalscoring form by firing past Julian Speroni from the edge of the area.
Spurs looked to be in control of the match but then handed Palace the chance to equalise when Benjamin Stambouli was penalised for sliding in on Joe Ledley in the box.
Maybe we made a mistake afterwards but the penalty maybe wasn’t a penalty and was key
Dwight Gayle stepped up to score the penalty and Jason Puncheon completed the comeback 10 minutes later to give Alan Pardew victory in his first Premier League match in charge of the Eagles.
Pochettino admitted Palace were the better side in the closing stages but questioned the awarding of the penalty.
“After 65 minutes we were in control of the game, the penalty changed it all,” he told Sky Sports. “Maybe we made a mistake afterwards but the penalty maybe wasn’t a penalty and was key. From my point of view in the dugout it’s difficult to give my opinion but my players say he (Stambouli) never touched the player (Ledley).
“It was difficult after conceding the goal, I think they showed more energy than us in the last 15-20 minutes, I am disappointed because after we conceded Palace were better.”
Spurs were also frustrated that Kane was not awarded at the other end when he went down in the box under a challenge from Joe Ledley.
Asked about the decision, Pochettino said: “It’s the same for the Palace penalty, it was difficult to see but there was one decision against us for the penalty and after we concede after another goal, which was our responsibility, but the decision changed the game.”
