CHERRIES endured a punishing afternoon under the glare of the north London sun, losing 4-0 to a brilliant Tottenham team whose victory maintained a modicum of pressure on Chelsea at the top of the Premier League.

The home team had stamped their authority on the game inside the opening quarter of the match. Already dominant in possession, they made their superiority tell when midfielder Mousa Dembele thrashed home to give his side a 16th-minute lead.

And when Son Heung-min ran onto Harry Kane's flick to convert three minutes later, Cherries had a mountain to climb. They hadn't had the chance to begin the ascent after half-time, when Kane rammed home his side's third goal.

Substitute Vincent Janssen drilled in to add gloss to the scoreline during stoppage time.

It took four minutes for Kane to fire his first shot at goal. Toby Alderweireld, the springboard for any number of Spurs' attacks, opted for an unusually rudimentary approach, serving the ball high into Cherries' box.

Charlie Daniels's clearance landed kindly for Kane, whose connection was true but blasted into the closing Steve Cook.

It was Cook's defensive partner, Simon Francis, on sentry duty at the subsequent corner, the Cherries skipper cutting off Christian Eriksen's cross to the near-post after the Dane had traded passes with Kyle Walker.

The same two Spurs players indulged in a carbon copy exchange at the next corner. Eriksen's delivery found Kane luxuriating in oodles of space... but offside and missing his kick in any case.

Tottenham had slipped into the groove. And in such circumstances they are a tough lot to stop.

On 14 minutes it was Dembele's turn to step up to the plate. Walker fed Kane, whose cut back invited the gifted Belgian to thump a first-time effort, which Artur Boruc beat away down to his left.

There was no getting in Dembele's way two minutes later.

Francis visibly felt he had been the victim of a miscarriage of justice when he was judged to have conceded a corner on the Spurs left.

Eriksen, though, was in the mood to capitalise on his lucky break – if that's what it was.

In truth, the winger's corner wasn't especially menacing, but it grew in threat with every yard Cherries allowed it to travel across their box.

The ball eventually found a home with Dembele, who cushioned it, before directing his powerful finish inside Boruc's left-hand post.

What Cherries needed to do now was compose themselves, weather the inevitable storm and go again.

What you want and what you get, though, are two different things.

Jack Wilshere, today's pantomime villain owing to his affiliations across north London, saw a hopeful forward pass cannon into Eric Dier.

The ball rebounded favourably for Kane but, to release Son, the striker's flick needed to be exceptional. It was.

Son shrugged off Cook – no mean feat – and hammered a ferocious strike through Boruc at the near post.

Two goals down after 19 minutes, playing against arguably the most powerful team in the country – with the wind in their sails, to boot – Cherries could easily have gone under. But they didn't.

In fact, they swiftly produced their best passage of play thus far, an extended passing move featuring some terrific hold up play by Joshua King and only ended when Walker intercepted the striker's slide-rule pass, intended for Marc Pugh.

Cook then headed over from a Junior Stanislas corner, before another Stanislas delivery ran a yard in front of the advancing Benik Afobe.

Perhaps slighted by the few minutes they had spent on the back foot, the hosts summoned a sustained charge.

One really did feel for the Cherries rearguard trying to get to grips with the wonderful, perpetual movement of Kane and the three playmakers in behind him, Messrs Son, Alli and Eriksen.

Francis's interception on an Eriksen delivery prevented Alli from having a free header at goal, with Cook then stretching out a leg to stop Kane being able to race onto another Dembele pass.

Eriksen sent a rasping first-time drive over the top after Son's intelligent cut back – that moments after Boruc had plunged to his left to keep out a 20-yard strike from the former Ajax player.

And Boruc was in the action again shortly before the break, the Cherries 'keeper diving full-length to his right to shovel away a skidding Son strike.

Three minutes after the break, though, there was nothing Boruc could do to stop Kane from snaffling his 25th goal of another prolific campaign.

Alli collected Eriksen's pass on the right and slipped the ball infield for Kane. The England forward had his back to goal and Francis swarming all over him. He executed his turn, despite a stumble, warding off his opponent the whole way, before sliding the ball across Boruc and into the net.

Kane wasn't so clinical with his next chance, scuffing his effort too close to Boruc after being fed by Eriksen.

He was denied by the goalkeeper again soon after – yet the sight of Wilshere slumping to the ground, after desperately pursuing the striker in an attempt to make amends for surrendering possession earlier in the move, was greeted like a goal by the home fans.

The midfielder tried to play on but had to give up on that idea almost immediately. His departure was a cause for further celebration among the locals. But it also enabled Lewis Cook to get his first taste of Premier League football since the opening day of the campaign – and he looked bright.

If Cherries had hoped Spurs would declare at three, then their luck was out.

The hosts – their manager Mauricio Pochettino constantly bellowing in their ears from the sideline – poured forward in waves.

Boruc saved from Eriksen, who also dumped a free-kick into a defensive wall, while Stanislas got in the way of a powerful Alli shot in the box.

The mental and physical effort invested in trying to keep tabs on this formidable unit finally began to take its toll on Cherries as the game entered its closing stages.

Son dragged a strike wastefully off target after Alli had made a hash of his initial effort. But left-back Ben Davies did get hold of a dipping shot that Boruc clung onto down to his left.

By then Daniels had stung Hugo Lloris's palms with a rising drive, a moment that elicited a giant roar from the travelling supporters behind the Tottenham 'keeper's goal.

Son received an earful from Dier with nine minutes to play, when the striker shot into the side netting rather than pass to his better-placed team-mate.

For Tottenham, though, the job was complete. As if to prove that point, Pochettino withdrew Kane, Alli and Eriksen in quick succession, each of the trio leaving to a rapturous ovation.

No bigger, though, than the reception afforded to substitute Janssen when he pounced at the death. The Dutch striker has had a difficult time of it since joining in the summer.

He had his moment, here, scoring his first goal from open play in the Premier League two minutes into stoppage time, thrashing home on the rebound after Steve Cook had hacked his first effort off the line.

Cherries are by no means the first team this season to leave this famous old ground wearily reflecting on a convincing defeat. In fact, they are the 12th in a row.

Such is life at the elite end of English football.

Tottenham Hotspur (4-2-3-1): Lloris, Walker, Alderweireld, Vertonghen, Davies, Dier, Dembele, Eriksen (Janssen, 87), Son, Alli (Sissoko, 84), Kane (Wanyama, 79).

Unused subs: Trippier, Onomah, Wimmer, Lopez (g/k).

Cherries (4-4-2): Boruc, Smith, Francis, S Cook, Daniels, Stanislas (Fraser, 69), Arter, Wilshere (L Cook, 56), Pugh, King, Afobe (Mousset, 77).

Unused subs: Gradel, Mings, Cargill, Allsop (g/k).

Booked: Fraser.

Referee: Michael Oliver (Northumberland).