Late Alli goal cancels out Doucoure opener as Tottenham and Watford draw

A late Dele Alli goal cancelled out an early Abdoulaye Doucoure opener as Tottenham shared the points with Watford.

Danny Welbeck was an early Watford casualty as he was replaced by Spaniard Gerard Deulofeu.

Watford took the lead on six minutes after Danny Rose misjudged a long switch to Daryl Janmaat, who proceeded to whip a low cross in for Abdoulaye Doucoure to finish.

The worst possible start had occurred once again for the home side, who were taunted by the away support as they rejoiced after finding themselves in an unfamiliar position, leading away.

A Dele Alli shot after a nice combination with Lucas Moura midway through the first half signalled Tottenham’s first chance of the encounter as the home faithful attempted to rally behind their team.

Groans already rung around the Tottenham Hotspur stadium as first Janmaat, then Ben Foster wasted time when the ball was out of play.

Moura then fired a header over but as the half drew to a close it appeared Mauricio Pochettino would once again have a tough team talk to give.

A chorus of boos rang around North London as Chris Kavanagh blew his whistle, Tottenham trailing Watford by one goal to nil.

Heung-Min Son was introduced at half time for the cautioned Davinson Sanchez as Pochettino opted to switch to a back four for the second period.

The South Korean almost immediately restored the deficit, crashing a strike against the crossbar via a touch from Ben Foster. At the other end an important block from Serge Aurier denied Roberto Pereyra a chance to double the Hornets lead.

Tottenham were finding success in the dual between Son and Jose Holebas but had rarely troubled Foster in the Watford net.

Deulofeu poked wide as Erik Lamela readied to come on in the place of Lucas Moura.

Doucoure had a chance for his second after intercepting sloppy Tottenham play on the edge but dragged an effort wide.

Tottenham tried to break down a formidable Watford defence but without creative sources such as Giovani Lo Celso and Christian Eriksen, the Lilywhites often lacked the cutting edge needed.

Dele Alli’s attempted flick was unfortunate not to come off as Spurs enjoyed their best attacking period of the game as the fixture entered the last 15 minutes.

Danny Rose had his second penalty appeal of the contest waived away as desperation grew and time faded for Tottenham.

The equaliser came on 86 minutes. Confusion in the Watford back lines presented the ball to Dele Alli, who after a lengthy VAR check, was adjudged not to have handled the ball when slotting the ball home and Spurs were level.

The game had sparked into life with Dele seemingly involved in every passage whether it’s dribbling past a Watford player or shoving them in frustration.

Late pressure wasn’t enough however with Tottenham once again falling short as their poor run of results continue.

Tottenham Hotspur XI: Gazzaniga, Aurier, Alderweireld, Sanchez (Son, 45), Vertonghen, Rose, Winks (Ndombele, 70), Sissoko, Dele, Lucas (Lamela, 63), Kane (C)

Tottenham unused substitutes: Austin, Foyth, Davies, Dier

Watford XI: Foster, Janmaat (Femenia ,70) Kabasele, Dawson, Cathcart, Holebas, Chalobah, Cleverley, Doucoure, Pererya (Hughes, 83), Welbeck (Deulofeu, 5)

Watford unused substitutes: Gomes, Masina, Sarr, Gray

Attendance: 58,754