Modric rues slow start

Luka Modric concedes that a poor first-half showing at Stoke cost Tottenham dear, but does not believe that they deserved to lose the game.The Croatian midfielder admits Spurs were 'sloppy' during the opening 45 minutes at the Britannia Stadium. An inability to settle into the contest saw them fall two goals behind, with former White Hart Lane winger Matthew Etherington netting twice for the hosts.A disjointed display left them with a mountain to climb, but tactical tinkering from Harry Redknapp at the interval saw Spurs emerge for the second period with renewed vigour.With Modric pulling the strings, they were able to pull one back when Emmanuel Adebayor converted from the penalty spot, but big decisions went against them and a run of six straight wins was brought to an abrupt halt."We lost in the first half," Modric told the club's official website."We started sloppy, every corner kick and every throw-in was a problem for us. We couldn't deal with them and they scored two goals. "After half-time we changed a bit tactically and we played much better. We created so many chances. I think the disallowed goal was a goal, and we fought hard, we tried to come back and tried to win the game, or at least to draw, but we didn't make it."We need to be happy with how we played in the second half. We just can't allow ourselves to play so badly in the first half. It's costly."Every run comes to an end but we didn't deserve to lose."