TOTTENHAM HOTSPUR 2 (Kane 54, Son 58)
WEST BROMWICH ALBION 0
WHEN THINGS GO WRONG, it is makes sense to go back to tried and tested methods, and Spurs returned to winning ways courtesy of the Kane and Son show.
Harry Kane returned from injury ahead of schedule to lead Spurs to their first win in four games, ending a run of three straight defeats that had created mounting pressure on Jose Mourinho.
Kane scored Tottenham’s opener and started a flowing move for Heung-Min Son to secure three points against a stubborn but struggling West Bromwich Albion.
Mourinho’s side have been accused of being half-hearted and brittle in recent weeks but they showed their mettle in a bruising encounter against Albion, who have only won two league games this season.
Tottenham, on the other hand, can start to challenge for the top four again if they continue in this vein, which was much more like their early season form, when Kane and Son shot them to the top of the table.
“Harry is one of the best strikers in the world and we can’t hide from the fact that the team depends on him a lot,” said Mourinho.
“The goals he scores, his link-play, his personality. But what made me happy was the commitment, desire and togetherness of the whole team.”
Allardyce echoed Mourinho’s evaluation of Kane. “He is one of the world’s best, and if you give chances to Kane and Son they will score,” he lamented.
The goals the pair scored in a brief burst after half-time took them to 13 league goals each and Kane also equalled the late Bobby Smith’s total of 208 goals for Spurs, second only to the great Jimmy Greaves.
His goal here was arguably as important as any, with so much pressure on Mourinho and his side. Spurs had lost three successive games since Kane injured his ankle early in their defeat by Liverpool ten days earlier, so his return was a welcome surprise.
It took the England captain a while to find his mark, with two shots wide of the target in the first half. But when Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg slid through a precise pass in the 54th minute, Kane showed the same precision to remain onside, control the ball and steer it into far corner of goal.
Four minutes later, Kane started a move with a chested pass near his own area to Lucas Moura, who ran 60 yards before laying the ball across for Son to smash it into goal with keeper Sam Johnstone able to get a hand to the ball but unable to stop it.
Johnstone was a rare bright spot for West Brom, saving well from Son twice, Kane and Serge Aurier in a one-sided game although West Brom went close shortly before half-time when Hugo Lloris saved a header from Mbaye Diagne on the goal-line. The big striker put the ball in the net twice in the second half, but was offside on both occasions, and Spurs were never in real danger.
Tottenham will face much stiffer tests when they go to Everton in the FA Cup on Wednesday and Manchester City in the league next weekend. But with Kane and Son back on song, they can travel with increased optimism.
TEAMS
TOTTENHAM 4-2-3-1
Lloris 7; Aurier 8 (Doherty 68), Sanchez 6, Alderweireld 7, Davies 7; Hojbjerg 9, Ndombele 8; Lamela 7 (Bergwijn 74), Moura 7, Son 7 (Scott 90+3); Kane 8
WBA 4-5-1
Johnstone 7; Peltier 5, Bartley 6, Ajayi 6, Townsend 6; Snodgrass 6 (Perreira 79), Maitland-Niles 5, Sawyers 5 (Okay 78), Gallagher 7, Grant 5 (Phillips 69); Diagne 5
Ref: Stuart Atwell
