Tottenham Hotspur have missed the chance to move top of the Premier League table having been held to a goalless draw by Bournemouth at the Vitality Stadium this afternoon.
Both sides hit the woodwork during a full-blooded affair, but neither could find a breakthrough as the unbeaten Spurs moved level on points with Manchester City and Arsenal while Bournemouth climb into the top half of the table.
Bournemouth saw their build-up to the game disrupted by two late withdrawals as Junior Stanislas pulled out on the morning of the match and Andrew Surman fell ill during the warm-up and needed to be replaced by Dan Gosling in the starting lineup.
That didn't prevent Eddie Howe's side from making a quick start to the game, though, and it was Gosling who created an early chance for the home side. The midfielder turned away from his marker following a short corner and played a low ball into the area which was poked towards goal by Charlie Daniels, but Hugo Lloris pulled off a fine reaction stop to turn the ball onto the crossbar.
The Cherries continued to make life difficult for Mauricio Pochettino's side, but the hosts were also saved by the woodwork 17 minutes in when Dele Alli nutmegged two defenders in succession before Erik Lamela took over and clipped the bar with an early 30-yard effort.
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Despite the high tempo of the match, clear chances were relatively few and far between at both ends of the field, with Artur Boruc only being forced into one meaningful stop in the first half when he got down smartly to turn Christian Eriksen's deflected shot past the post.
The energy and high pressing of both sides resulted in five yellow cards during the first half - four of which came for Spurs - and the visitors were fortunate not to see one of those turn into a red card when Lamela risked a second booking with a mistimed sliding challenge.
Bournemouth had a chance to break the deadlock in stoppage time of the first half when Callum Wilson got his head to a cross from the right, but the striker failed to test Lloris as the two sides went into the break all square.
It was Tottenham who began the second half brighter, and Boruc was called into action just two minutes after the restart when Alli found space to fire a low drive towards goal that the Bournemouth keeper needed to turn behind.
Lamela was the next to come close for the visitors when he collected Victor Wanyama's pass inside the box and, with the angle against him, blasted a powerful effort over the top.
The Argentine once again tried his luck from a tight angle shortly past the hour mark when Spurs won a free kick on the right flank, but his whipped delivery flew straight into the arms of Boruc.
It continued to be Spurs who were creating the best sights of goal, and Danny Rose squandered another with just under 15 minutes remaining when he scuffed Moussa Sissoko's cut-back and Boruc got down to make the save.
Sissoko was lucky to stay on the pitch just seven minutes after coming on as a sub when he caught Arter with an elbow while looking to retrieve the ball for a throw-in, but referee Craig Pawson again opted for leniency.
It was Bournemouth who provided the late pressure as they went in search of a first win against Spurs since 1957, and Benik Afobe came closest when he steered Simon Francis's cross narrowly over the bar.
Ultimately both sides were forced to settle for a point, though, which takes Bournemouth up to ninth in the table and extends their unbeaten record to four matches.
Tottenham, meanwhile, are now nine unbeaten from the start of a season for just the fourth time in the club's history, but remain third having failed to score for the first time in their last 19 Premier League outings.
Barney Corkhill
