Tottenham boss Ange Postecoglou fumes after shipping two-goal lead at Brighton - 'Worst defeat since I've been here'

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Ange Postecoglou vented his frustrations as Tottenham Hotspur let slip a 2-0 lead in a 3-2 defeat against Brighton & Hove Albion at the Amex Stadium on Sunday. The former Celtic boss described the defeat as his "worst" since joining the club in 2023, as Brennan Johnson and James Maddison's first-half goals were cancelled out by a magnificent second-half comeback by the hosts.

‘We didn’t do what you need to do’ - Postecoglou frustrated as Spurs throw away two-goal lead

Video credit: SNTV

Ange Postecoglou lamented Tottenham Hotspur's "unacceptable" second-half performance, as the north London side squandered a 2-0 lead, falling to a 3-2 defeat at Brighton & Hove Albion on Sunday.

Brennan Johnson and James Maddison fired Spurs ahead in an impressive first-half showing from Postecoglou's side, but a capitulation after the interval saw the visitors surrender their advantage as Brighton completed the turnaround just 21 minutes into the second half.

Postecoglou - who guided Spurs to five consecutive victories before their trip to the Amex - was "absolutely gutted" after the defeat, labelling it his worst since joining the club in 2023.

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"Disappointing. Frustrated and absolutely gutted with that," he told Sky Sports. "Worst defeat since I've been here. Unacceptable second half. We weren't anywhere near where we should be. We got carried away with how we were going.

"We kind of accepted our fate and it is a bit hard to understand as we've not done that while I've been here. We've usually fought for everything, but when you don't, you pay the price.

"The problem is we are travelling along too smoothly, football and life will trip you up if you get too far ahead of yourself. That's what it looked to me in the second half."

Postecoglou continued by saying it is his "responsibility" to overturn the negativity following the defeat, as the international break sparks a 13-day break until their return to Premier League action - against London rivals West Ham United, live on TNT Sports and discovery+.

"There is no message [to the players]. It is a terrible loss for us - as bad as it gets," he added. "There's only one way to fix it and that's my responsibility.

"We lost all our duels and if you're not competitive it is not going to work - we were not competitive.

"They all go on international duty, the majority of them. They will process it individually and I will process it when everyone gets back."

Postecoglou was critical of his side's response to Yankuba Minteh's goal three minutes after the break, which prompted a spirited comeback from Brighton with Georginio Rutter and Danny Welbeck getting on the scoresheet soon after.

The Spurs boss told BBC's Match of the Day: "Fair to say that the second half was unacceptable and we paid a price for that.

"We probably should have put it to bed in the first half. What we did in that second half is unacceptable and we got what we deserved.

"Maybe we just thought we’d roll out there and play well again and that’s not how it works and we paid for it.

"We’ve conceded before but it is how you react and our reaction wasn’t what it should be. It’s a bad day for us and when it’s a bad day the responsibility falls at my feet."

Postecoglou's side sit ninth in the early Premier League standings, after they were leapfrogged by Brighton who now reside in sixth.

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