Fulham 0-1 Tottenham (Kane 45′)
CRAVEN COTTAGE — At last, a share of the record books. Harry Kane moved level with the great Jimmy Greaves as Tottenham’s all-time leading scorer as Antonio Conte’s side boosted their top-four hopes with a vital victory at Fulham.
It was a strike like countless others that had preceded it, whipped low, hard and accurately into the bottom corner beyond a helpless goalkeeper. And it was well-timed too, coming in the midst of a familiar sense of uncertainty that has seeped into Spurs from the boardroom to the dugout to the pitch and into the stands.
The first waves of discontent from the away end arrived after just 200 seconds: “We want Levy out” chants swiftly followed by “Daniel Levy, get out of our club,” and then support for Antonio Conte, whose future is once more shrouded in doubt after reports that he may leave this summer surfaced in Italy over the weekend.
The match was delayed by 15 minutes due to transport issues, but it was loud in the stadium and lively on the pitch when it did belatedly get underway. Joao Palhinha offered an early reminder that it was a London derby by steaming into Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg, with all the legs-first enthusiasm of an eight-year-old preparing to hurtle down the Tropical Cyclone water slide at Centreparcs, earning the first caution.
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Conte’s team generally start matches with all the intensity and familiarity of 11 strangers parachuted onto the pitch 30 seconds before kick-off and told to get on with it.
That Hugo Lloris made the first three saves of the evening will surprise nobody who has watched them consistently this season. Fortunately for the visitors, it was Harrison Reed, a scorer of two Fulham goals, rather than Aleksandar Mitrovic, a scorer of almost a hundred, who had the best of them when located unmarked inside the six-yard box, Lloris keeping him out with an instinctive block.
It wasn’t until the 33rd minute that Harry Kane had his first sighter, an effort from distance that zipped menacingly over Bernd Leno’s bar from distance. It was a warning sign that Fulham failed to heed; with his second attempt of the night, Kane finally matched Greaves, netting his 266th goal in all competitions on his 300th Premier League appearance for the club. A night of landmarks in a career packed full of them.
“He’s just a one season wonder,” chimed the visiting fans. Not even when Chingford’s finest was enjoying that explosive, career-defining breakthrough in 2014-15 could those same supporters have envisaged he’d become the club’s most decorated player in history less than a decade later. Greaves’ record had stood for over half a century. It may not be a trophy, but it’s a significant accomplishment that will mean a great deal.
𝑪𝒍𝒂𝒔𝒔𝒊𝒄 Kane
— Sky Sports Premier League (@SkySportsPL) January 23, 2023
Goal number 266 – Harry Kane equals Jimmy Greaves' record!pic.twitter.com/tCnhzVVRAQ
A little over 10 minutes after he’d equalled the record, it looked as though Kane’s moment to surpass Greaves had arrived. Ben Davies’ looped the ball to the back post but Kane’s textbook header was miraculously palmed over the top by Leno. It was a chance that nestled somewhere in between stunning save meets bad miss territory. Kane raised his hands to his head in disbelief. That milestone will have to wait for another week.
It would have been well recieved too given Fulham began the second half with much the same zeal as they had in the first. Long balls were launched forward for the hungry giants Mitrovic, Palhinha and Issa Diop to attack; Eric Dier tried to thwart them and received a whack to the head for his troubles.
Spurs were forced to dig in. Cristian Romero earned a customary yellow card for launching Kung-Fu Panda style into Mitrovic who maybe should have equalised with a back post header that he has made his forte. Lloris made a flying stop to keep out a Pereira curler as the PA announcer provided an unwelcome update TFL update.
But they clung on for a much-needed three points that both lifts spirits and galvanises a Champions League charge that had looked in danger of derailment.
Kane: Spurs went back to basics to get back on track
“We dug deep, it was a tough week but this is a good 1-0 win,” Kane told Sky Sports after the game.
“It’s been difficult, whenever you give away a two-goal lead at half-time it’s always harder to take. We wanted to get back to basics today, clean sheets are really important for us if we’re going to stay in the Champions League spots.
“We had to be compact, suffer together at times and we knew we’d get chances. We went back to what got us into the Champions League last year. Tonight was a good sign.”
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