End of the pier football, we might call it. Breathless and raucous. Fast, frenzied and littered with errors. Blurring the senses, spinning the mind and serving up a couple of hours of brilliant and chaotic entertainment by the seaside.
Tottenham were two up and cruising. They led through Brennan Johnson, his sixth in six consecutive games and the away end were serenading him with his new tune, “Johnson again ole, ole”.
Spurs were slick with the ball and aggressive without it, James Maddison stretched the lead, and they might easily have gone further clear.
How they contrived to lose from here is a mystery. Answers on a postcard.
Brighton certainly deserve credit. They had been flat, too passive at the start of the game. They let the visitors dominate but they came out fighting in the second half and lifted the mood when Yankuba Minteh struck early to reduce the deficit.
Georginio Rutter levelled inducing which spread panic through Tottenham’s defensive ranks and Danny Welbeck headed in the winner. Three goals in 18 minutes to turn the contest upside and lift Brighton into sixth.
For Spurs, the sobering defeat brought and encouraging sequence of five wins in a row since losing the North London derby ground to an abrupt halt and all the same old questions came tumbling down upon him.
Are the too open? Shouldn’t they close these games down? The alarming nature of the collapse left Ange Postecoglou seething quietly about the “most disappointing” display of his tenure, and the shocking absence of competitiveness as the points slipped through his hands.
None of this had seemed at all plausible as Tottenham came out with such great intent. They ought to have scored within seconds when Timo Werner, deputising once again for injured captain Heung-min Son on the left, sped clear.
Werner’s attempt to find Johnson with a simple cross went astray, but he continued to cause problems for Joel Veltmann in the opening phase, bringing the full-back to a standstill then bursting past with an explosion of pace.
Had the German been operating with Johnson’s confidence in front of goal the damage inflicted might have been greater. Dejan Kulusevski shone in the first half, combining with full back Pedro Porro and winger Johnson.
Maddison thought he had claimed the opener when he deflected a Werner header over the line from close range but there was a flag up and replays confirmed Porro a fraction offside before breaking clear to make the cross.
Postecoglou’s team did not dwell on the setback and went ahead seconds later. Maddison found Dominic Solanke and his pass was finished effortlessly by Johnson on the run, sweeping it past Bart Verbruggen with his left foot to become the first Tottenham player since Harry Kane in January 2019 to score six in six.
Brighton had been unusually standoffish until this point. Certainly not helped by losing central defender Adam Webster to a hamstring injury after only eight minutes, but Fabian Hurzeler reshuffled and they showed more adventure once behind.
Kaoru Mitoma cut loose and started to dazzle, threatening in the plentiful space behind Porro. Welbeck slid one Mitoma cross wide and Jack Hinshelwood headed another wide before they helped Tottenham to a second.
This one was scored by Maddison, a low curling shot after quick break on the turnover and a short square pass by Werner, but it will go down as a mistake by Verbruggen who should have kept it out after getting down with two hands.
Johnson had a glorious chance to make it 3-0 before the interval. Released by Kulusevski, he took a touch and aimed high with his right foot over Verbruggen. This time, too high.
Postecoglou threw his hands to his head as the ball landed in the away end. Perhaps he suspected Brighton could only improve but cannot have anticipated just how quickly the game slip away.
Minteh’s goal three minutes into the second half revived hope inside the Amex Stadium with a poor goal to concede from Tottenham’s angle.
A low cross by Mitoma was flicked on by Micky van de Ven as he slid to clear, and that slight touch deceived Destiny Udgodie as it sped his way and he failed to avert the danger at the back post.
Minteh pounced to slam it past Guglielmo Vicario and 10 minutes later the teams were all square. Again, Van de Ven and Udogie were culpable, exposed at the back as they allowed Rutter to hold them off as he collected a pass from Mitoma and found the net with his left foot.
Postecoglou’s team did not stop trying to forward but suddenly they found it difficult to escape their own half and Brighton seemed capable of scoring at will as they poured forward.
Rutter’s physical presence and determination created Brighton’s third. He rolled clear of Udogie with little trouble. Tottenham’s left back, just back from injury, cut a tormented figure in the second half but he was not alone.
Rodrigo Bentancur failed to complete the fairly simple task of stopping Rutter from crossing the ball and Welbeck gave Cristian Romero the slip as he sprang high to score with a fine downward header.
Brighton withdrew again, tried to slow things down and invite their opponents on with a view to picking them off again on the counterattack. Verbruggen was cautioned for time-wasting but Spurs hardly looked as if they knew how to get out of the hole they had dug for themselves.
Udogie forced a save from Verbruggen with a low shot from the edge of the penalty area but there was no late pressure. No way back for Tottenham as they lost a Premier League game for the 10th time having led by two or more goals.
They are the first team to reach double figures in this roll call of ignominy. Good old Spursy by the sea, as they like to sing around these parts.
