Swansea City once again failed to hold onto a lead on Sunday against Tottenham Hotspur at White Hart Lane as they lost 2-1 to the second placed Londoners.
Though it took two second half goals from Tottenham to win the match, it came as no surprise when the home club did score. They were in complete control for the entire 90 minutes.
The Swans for the majority of the match were just holding to their lead and then to a potential draw. If it was not for their goalkeeper Lukasz Fabianski making an outstanding 12 saves, the outcome of this match would have easily become a one sided victory for the home club.
Danny Rose sends the Swans packing
It took Spurs 77 minutes to complete the comeback against the stubborn Jacks backline. A spectacular strike from Tottenham defender Danny Rose sank the Welsh club with only 13 minutes left in the match.
Rose’s goal came from the Jacks' defence failing to correctly clear the danger out of the penalty box. Rose ran towards the ball that was dropping quickly to the ground, quickly controlled it at the edge of the box and fired a powerful shot into the back of the net.
Rose's first goal of the season restored Spurs' title chances, and made White Hart Lane erupt.
The Jacks stun White Hart Lane
However, even though the home club came out of the gates flying looking for an early goal, they found themselves down a goal as Italian forward Alberto Paloschi scored his first for Swansea in the 19th minute.
Paloschi was at the right place at the right time to recover the loose ball in the box. He wasted no time and fired a powerful shot right into the top corner to give Swansea the surprising lead on the road.
However, the Swans failed to build on their momentum after taking the lead. By the time the game ended, the Welsh Club had placed only four of their 10 shots on target, with Spurs 'keeper Hugo Lloris forced to make only three saves in the match.
Swansea try hold down the fort... but fail
The game plan of the Swans became clear after taking the lead - bunker in and hold out for the three points. The Welsh club began to play with more of a physical approach and referee Mike Jones ended up showing three different Jacks a yellow card.
However, their physical approach did not slow down the Spurs attack. After the home club conceded, they went on to have 29 attempts on goal, with Swansea being overrun at the back whilst their attack was nowhere to be found.
Regardless of the constant bombardment from Tottenham, the Swans still had the 1-0 lead. The Spurs faithful at the White Hart Lane began to grow restless and nervous as the ending of the match began to approach. That all changed when substitute midfielder Nacer Chadli levelled the match 1-1 in the 70th minute.
The play began with Fabianksi clearing the corner by punching the ball. However, the ball did not travel far, and landed in the box right into the path of speedy Tottenham defender Kyle Walker. He quickly took a shot that was going wide, but Chadli jumped into its path and redirected the ball into the back of the net.
After the Lilywhites equalised, the Swans began to collapse. It only took seven more minutes for them to break through again and eventually win the match 2-1 with Rose's goal in the 77th minute.
The reality of Swansea's situation
With this defeat, the month of February comes to a close for the Jacks in the Premier League and it was rough and ugly for them. They competed in four matches and finished with two points out of a possible 12 - failing to register a win.
When the month began, they boasted a two game winning streak and starting to create a gap between them and the relegation zone. However, after this result and the other three matches in February, the Welsh club find themselves back in the scrap for survival.
Swansea currently sit in 16th place with 27 points and another defeat might drop them into the bottom three. If the two clubs behind them, Norwich City and Newcastle United, win their next match then the Jacks will be one step closer to playing in the Championship next season.
Swansea's task to stay up doesn't get any easier in their next game either as they will be once again on the road when they face Arsenal on Wednesday at the Emirates Stadium.