TOTTENHAM HOTSPUR STADIUM – The search for the real Harry Kane goes on, at least in front of goal in a Spurs shirt. The Tottenham skipper performed his duties well enough elsewhere and was the architect of Spurs second with a typically sumptuous pass. And while Antonio Conte was delighted with his contribution, the Spurs that Conte has in mind has Kane banging them in.
Though the win took Spurs to sixth, the result had as much to do with Brentford’s shortcomings as the home team’s strengths. A fleeting hint of what an optimised Spurs might be was revealed in that beautiful second goal scored by Son Heung-min, who gorged on an opportunity begun by himself. His ball to Kane found his leader in acres. Kane played a stellar pass to release Reguilon, who galloped down the left to cross first time for a tap-in.
The move was almost a replica of the first meaningful opening of the match. Reguilon again sprinting across the halfway line, finds Kane. Kane turns and advances at pace towards goal. He has Son to his left, Lucas Moura to his right. Moura it is. The pass is inch perfect, the shot missile-like, the save from Alvaro Fernandez spectacular.
This was the exemplar of Conte’s template, joined up, rapid and precise. The problem was the mundane fair that filled the sandwich. Conte will, of course, take any kind of goal. The one his team delivered in the 11th minute was as prosaic as they come. Though Son crossed expertly, the conversion by Sergi Canos under pressure Ben Davies was rather more agricultural, a poorly contested header that got the better of a static defence.
It was just the kind of goal Brentford do not need to be conceding. They would expect to deal with the routine stuff. Their failure to do so might yet undo the promising start they have made to life at the top. This was their first meeting with Spurs for 49 years, a fixture that took place in the second tier. We are entering a critical month at the end of which half the season will be behind us.
Brentford are well organised but underpowered. Where Ivan Toney bullied teams in the Championship, he is a supine presence in the Premier League. Brentford are straining sinew upon sinew to maintain credibility. Everything, you sense, must go right for them to succeed. It didn’t.
As Conte keeps telling us, quality is thinly spread. Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg might be considered the issue in microcosm. He runs, he demands, he urges, he cajoles, but is so far from the Glenn Hoddle, Paul Gascoigne class of influencer that his time spent with the ball can amount to a reprieve for the opposition, an opportunity to get back into shape.
Hojbjerg will never let Spurs down, but what they need in that position is lifting up. His pairing with Oliver Skipp compounds the problem, a couple of Vauxhalls doing the job of Range Rovers.
If that sounds harsh it is not their fault. Neither let the team down. Indeed Skipp played in Kane with a fine pass at the start of the second half that would have yielded a goal last season, or even this if he were playing in a different competition. Hojbjerg almost scored when attacking Kane’s cross at the far post. But instead of goal his shot found the side netting. Fine margins.
The match hummed along despite the low quality count. The Brentford fans in the corner of this gorgeous chunk of football real estate contributed to a terrific atmosphere. Pity their team could not get quite close enough to goal to give them real hope. The final ball just wasn’t there. All that was required of Spurs was to spring the trap when a move inevitably broke down, as they for the second.
The stadium was full of song at the close. The paucity of the awful defeat to Mura in Europe only a week ago banished from the memory. A home match against Norwich on Sunday presents further opportunity for consolidation, perhaps even a top-four place.
Brentford, meanwhile, went over to their fans, who cheered the players as if the points were theirs. For them there is still magic in nights like this no matter what the result.
from Football – inews.co.uk https://ift.tt/31lbJTz
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