ANDONI Iraola believed Spurs’ superiority in front of goal was the difference in Cherries’ 3-1 defeat at Tottenham Hotspur.

Cherries had double the amount of shots and treble the number of corners in north London, but found themselves 3-0 down thanks to goals from Pape Matar Sarr, Heung-Min Son, and Richarlison.

Alex Scott found the back of the net with Cherries’ 20th shot, but the effort counted for scant consolation as a run of seven games unbeaten came to an end.

Asked if he felt the scoreline was a fair reflection of the game, Iraola told the Daily Echo: “(The scoreline) is what counts - you have to score goals.

“And they were much better than us in the last third, finishing wise.

“I'm really happy with the performance. I think we played with really strong personality against top opposition.

“We had our chances. We had a lot of the ball around the box.

“We played a lot in their half, but it wasn't good enough, especially last third to score the (equaliser) and put them under pressure.”

Defeat means Cherries will remain 12th heading into the new year, with 25 points from their opening 19 games.