Tottenham 1-0 Portsmouth (Kane 50′)
TOTTENHAM HOTSPUR STADIUM – Harry Kane moved a goal closer to Jimmy Greaves’ all-time club record as his 265th Spurs goal saw Antonio Conte’s side past spirited Portsmouth and into the FA Cup fourth round.
The good will generated by the midweek thrashing of Crystal Palace was in danger of disappearing after Spurs resumed their customary first-half flakiness, failing to register a shot on target for the opening 45 minutes. While that has cost them so many times this season, there was a little more leeway here against League One opposition, who sacked manager Danny Cowley in midweek after a winless nine-game streak.
Yet it fell to Reeco Hackett to produce the first real chance of the afternoon. Fraser Forster, who spent eight years on Southampton’s books, was already the most unpopular man in the away end when he managed to get down to deny Hackett’s ambitious scissor kick.
Portsmouth continued to make life difficult until Kane beat Manchester United academy product Ryan Tunnicliffe and retrieved a touch from Ryan Sessegnon, capitalising on the minimal space around him and firing into the far corner as he was falling to the turf. Spurs’ opener had nearly come from a far unlikelier source moments earlier when Emerson Royal met Son Heung-min’s cross and headed onto the post.
Interim Pomey boss Simon Bassey is a man who has battled the odds throughout his career; in his playing days he was one of the first men to sign for the reformed AFC Wimbledon in 2002, but Portsmouth’s hopes of a giant-killing here began to wane – albeit this was not the kind of dominant performance Conte would have been demanding from his players.
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Before the game, the Italian had led tributes to his former team-mate and colleague Gianluca Vialli, whom he lost this week just months after the passing of two other former colleagues in Gian Piero Ventrone and Sinisa Mihajlovic.
Conte made eight changes from the side that beat Palace and was forced into another late swap, putting in Oliver Skipp for Yves Bissouma minutes before kick-off and calling Enfield-born teenager Romaine Mundle to a relatively threadbare bench, once again placing Spurs’ January plans under scrutiny.
Skipp squandered the chance to put the tie to bed when he fired over the bar after a sublime through ball to Bryan Gil from Kane, was guilty of some stray passes early on, and was perhaps fortunate to avoid at least a booking for a big hit on Michael Morrison.
However, there were some bright moments and solid positioning from his midfield partner Pape Matar Sarr, even if the Senegal international had lapses of sloppiness.
Tottenham player ratings
- Forster 7
- Royal 5
- Tanganga 5
- Sanchez 6
- Davies 7
- Sessegnon 6
- Skipp 5
- Sarr 7
- Bryan 6.5
- Son 6
- Kane 7
Substitutes:
- Spence 6
- Devine N/A
Gil will have pleased Conte too, earlier this week earning a comparison with Bernardo Silva from his manager. There were flashes of invention from the young winger again and Spurs’ task now is to allow him to push higher up the pitch and establish himself in a position where Kane and Son can make the best of his runs, particularly as he continues to adapt physically. Lewis Thompson gave him a well-timed reminder of that with a thumping tackle as Portsmouth refused to lie down.
With his options limited, there was little Conte could do to see the game out but he did hand a rare appearance to Djed Spence, who would now be cup-tied if he did move away on loan this month. The right-back received another warm reception from the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium in a tie that would surely have been a prime opportunity for him to have started alongside a handful of other fringe players – even if it fell to Kane to change the game.
All eyes will be on the England captain in next week’s north London derby against Arsenal, when he can equal Greaves’ record with a goal or break it with a brace. There was always a question of how he would react to the missed penalty against France in Qatar – the answer is with four goals in as many games since the resumption of domestic football as history beckons.
from Football - inews.co.uk https://ift.tt/uCEf7a8
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