Tottenham 3-1 Nottingham Forest (Kane 19’, 35’, Son 62’ | Worrall ’82)
TOTTENHAM HOTSPUR STADIUM – A French comedian dressed as an astronaut turned up on the Tottenham High Road before kick-off with a football and a sign for Harry Kane. He claimed he had finally retrieved the England captain’s botched penalty from the World Cup quarter-final.
As ever, it was Kane who had the last laugh, but this day was not really about him, or even about a vindicated Richarlison. It was about Antonio Conte, who battles on to see another day after a win over a toothless Nottingham Forest.
There will be some who feel this is merely prolonging the inevitable – they are probably among those who expected to wake up on Thursday morning and hear Conte had been sacked. When losing 1-0 to Wolves is only your third worst result of the week, you’ve got problems. Equally, here was a chance to put it right, and one which could have been a catastrophe had Spurs done anything other than dominate.
When Richarlison was the first man to find the net, it seemed almost too poetic to be true. Indeed it was, as he latched onto Oliver Skipp’s ball over the top and powered it past Keylor Navas, the Brazilian celebrating with a single finger to his lips. Aimed at Conte, perhaps, who on Friday agreed that the forward’s season had been “shit” after he had publicly complained about his lack of minutes, or even at the Forest fans who goaded him so much after his showboating in the reverse fixture. But VAR intervened, eventually, to note a slither of shoulder that had passed the defender.
What should have gone down as a triumphant moment for Richarlison will have to go down as just another great story crushed by needless implementation of a technology that was not introduced for moments like this, but he made his point well enough nonetheless. Were Conte in the good books, his handling of the situation might even be hailed as a dose of exceptional man-management, even if Richarlison ended the afternoon without a goal.
Kane’s opener was unstoppable, though, as Forest were punished for failing to react. Ben Davies did the clearing up from Richarlison’s loose cross into the box, Jonjo Shelvey watched as Pedro Porro stopped it dead before lifting it onto Kane’s head.
While Forest waited until second-half injury time for their first shot, and it soon became clear why they have scored three away goals since their return to the Premier League and beaten only Southampton, Kane was clinical. A touch as he drifted into Spurs’ absent playmaking position found Richarlison, who was brought down by Joe Worrall, and Kane delivered the penalty down the middle.
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Yet even Son, arguably the biggest victim of Tottenham’s tepid season, was able to get in on the act.
Son has had so little luck, so he was due a series of fortuitous interventions – Worrall’s clearance found Richarlison again, the ball bounced awkwardly off Son’s knees, and his next touch dragged, before he was able to switch feet and bury it into the corner. Serge Aurier, on his return to his former ground, floundered in response, though he was unlucky not to get a goal of his own with his header tipped over the bar by Fraser Forster.
It did begin Forest’s only real period of pressure, which was rewarded when Forster flapped at Morgan Gibbs-White’s corner, Felipe flicked it on and Worrall headed it in. Andre Ayew might have set up a nervy finish but missed from the spot after Dejan Kulusevski’s handball.
Still, those who had vowed to chant Pochettino’s name, as they had done at full-time against Milan, had no reason to do so now. Conte had been reserved for the first two, but greeted Son’s goal with wild celebrations.
There are still bigger questions looming than whether Spurs can beat Forest, or Southampton and Everton, the two other relegation candidates that follow either side of the international break. Do they now stand a better chance of making the top four with Conte in charge, and with no distractions – admittedly a flattering spin on being knocked out of two competitions in a week? Liverpool’s loss to Bournemouth, and victory here, has put them in prime position.
Will that constitute success to Conte, Kane, the fans or indeed the board? The answers would probably be different if you asked all three – and Spurs’ path between now and the end of the season becomes difficult to predict when you consider their knack for taking a backwards step almost invariably after they have ostensibly turned a corner. For now, at least, Conte fights on.
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