How much of a moon shot this turns out to be we must await May’s judgment. For the early part of Remembrance Sunday at least Spurs were top of the Premier League for the first time in six years thanks to Harry Kane’s 150th goal in the competition.
Don’t put me on the moon yet pleaded Jose Mourinho contemplating the consequences of victory. The summit rarely seemed at issue until Kane headed home with two minutes remaining. The dream trident of Kane, Son Heung-min and Gareth Bale appeared for the first time in the league without suggesting they might develop into a forward line of fable.
But then up popped Kane to trigger carnival scenes and condemn winless West Brom to their worst Premier League start.
Kane’s pre-match pitch that if Spurs were to push their claims they would have to eke out results like this, a match in which the home side roused themselves mightily from premature deference, proved prescient.
Though Kane’s winner will form no part of his career highlights reel there was satisfaction taken from the timing and manner of its delivery, a spirited heave at the end of a long, dogged shift.
“The goals always feel better when you win,” he said. “That was a tough game. We played a lot better in the second half but they were defending for their lives, as we knew they would. It was just about getting that breakthrough and thankfully I got a little header in there.
“We’re delighted with the three points. There’s a lot of big games to come after the international break but we’re happy to be top of the league. So far, so good.”
It might have been different had Spurs capitalised on West Brom’s passive opening. Son, it turns out, is fallible. With too much time inside the box after a flowing move, he controlled the ball, checked the time, scrolled the internet, phoned mum, then pulled the trigger, by which time West Brom had flooded the wide-open acres with bodies.
The awful miss came during an unsettling opening during which West Brom seemed unsure of how to proceed. Manager Slaven Bilic had warned against the negative impact of seven winless games, urged his team not to feel ashamed in this company. Son’s miss was the reprieve that jolted them into the contest.
Denied by Covid of the availability of Matheus Pereira and Branislav Ivanovic, West Brom might still have gone ahead. Karlan Grant connected but not with anything like the conviction required to convert Darnell Furlong’s appetising cross.
Eric Dier saved Spurs a second time heading from under his own bar a ball that appeared destined for the head of Furlong and almost certainly the goal.
Callum Robinson was becoming much more influential in a roving attacking role, menacing Toby Alderweireld and Dier as much as Son and Kane had earlier tormented the West Brom backline. Behind him eternal loanee from Benfica, Filip Krovinovic linked midfield and attack with impressive urgency and a sure touch.
The local commentariat in the press box reflected how much better West Brom were against Spurs than they were in building a three-goal lead in the home match with Chelsea. That was in Chelsea’s leaky, pre-Hakim Ziyech period. Against a better organised, more evolved opponent there is a greater premium on taking opportunities, however slim.
Understandably perhaps, Bilic was an emotional exhaust pipe on the touchline. Relentless prompts to his players were followed by anxious discussions with his cornermen, none of them productive, save for the outlet they provided for all that nervous energy.
With 20 minutes remaining Spurs were still searching for a way through. They had most of the ball but it was the fast-breaking West Brom who once again came closest, Hugo Lloris forced into one of those cat-like reaction leaps to keep out Furlong’s header from a corner.
The ineffectual Bale made way for Premier League debutant Vinicius and Moussa Sissoko for Lucas Moura as Mourinho went full bore for the victory that would take Spurs to top spot.
Sure enough, Kane obliged to sit alongside Michael Owen, joint ninth in the list of all-time Premier League scorers. Just 110 more to sit at the shoulder of Alan Shearer.
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