PAIN FOR WAYNE.. BUT KANE REIGNS
Spurs striker joins an elite list of scorers while Roo left with headache
FOR Wayne Rooney the booze turned to boos as any attempts at redemption were upstaged by ton-up Spurs star Harry Kane.
It was the hangover from hell for Rooney on his first appearance since being charged with drink-driving.
But for Kane the road to glory is in overdrive, taking over at times Rooney’s mantle as England captain and currently the Premier League’s master marksman having earned the Golden Boot for the past two seasons.
Now that August is over he is going to take some stopping, opening this season’s account for England and now up and running with his club thanks to goal number 100 in a Tottenham shirt.
Whether it was a freak or not, Kane’s joyful celebrations told you that he was not bothered.
Neither was his delighted manager Mauricio Pochettino, who stated: “A cross or a shot, it’s not important – it was a goal for us. He now has 100 goals for Tottenham. Congratulations to him, he is an unbelievable player.”
Life would also be a lot simpler for Everton boss Ronald Koeman if he could have brought Kane in as a replacement for Romelu Lukaku and his goals.
Koeman said: “His movement, his
finishing – he is a top striker. His first goal broke our confidence. Manchester City and Tottenham in my view are the best footballing sides in the Premier League.”
Kane’s 28th-minute strike meant he joined Spurs greats like Jimmy Greaves, Bobby Smith, Martin Chivers and Teddy Sheringham in scoring 100 goals or more for the club.
He did not have long to wait for goal number 101, just two minutes into the second half as Tottenham’s travelling goals show continued unabated on Merseyside.
It is now 18 goals in just four successive away games – their best sequence since January 2014, a stark contrast to their form at Wembley.
Why he can’t score in August is a mystery but from now on opposition defences must welcome Kane with trepidation.
Rooney has been involved in a storm of his own making but there was no redemption in front of fans more concerned about whether their striker’s Sat-nav was functioning.
As he and his chastened Everton teammates left to a chorus of boos, the Goodison public had delivered their verdict.
The inevitable stick from the Spurs fans towards Rooney could have been a lot worse. “He only drinks when he’s driving” wasn’t exactly Xcertificate stuff.
They left chanting “Wayne Rooney is getting the bus”. Sadly for Koeman, Rooney and company were thrown under the bus as Spurs carved out chance after chance and would have been disappointed with just the three. The visitors had missed opportunities through Christian Eriksen and Kane before their much-feted No.10 struck. Kane found himself out on the right flank following a half-cleared corner, looked up and from 35 yards sent the ball looping and spinning over a startled Jordan Pickford. The striker was honest enough to admit it was meant as a cross. He said: “I got lucky because I didn’t mean it but sometimes you need that bit of luck. It’s a fantastic feeling.”
But there was no doubting his second goal, sending a deliberate flick past Pickford from the excellent Ben Davies’ cross.
In between the Kane strikes, Eriksen also managed to find the back of the net – mopping up after Pickford had parried a fierce Davies drive and blasting home from close range.
Everton were left chasing shadows and you could see the frustration rising in Rooney, who could not help himself in flattening Dele Alli shortly after being warned for another rash challenge. A yellow card duly followed.
He had hoped to make the right kind of headlines on the back pages rather than continue to dominate the front ones.
Once again it was Kane who hogged them – and for all the right reasons.