The Citizen (KZN)

The Son shines on red-hot Spurs

SOUTH KOREAN FORWARD SMASHES HAT-TRICK Huge concern as Kane forced off with an ankle injury.

- London

Son Heung-Min’s hattrick fired Tottenham into the FA Cup semi-finals, but his side’s 6-0 victory against Millwall was overshadow­ed by Harry Kane’s potentiall­y serious ankle injury.

Kane limped off in the 10th minute at White Hart Lane after his ankle twisted awkwardly.

The England striker was sidelined with another ankle problem earlier this season and the injury is a major worry for Tottenham boss Mauricio Pochettino.

England manager Gareth Southgate will also be concerned as he is due to name his squad for forthcomin­g fixtures against Germany and Lithuania.

Tottenham are looking to win the FA Cup for the first time since 1991 and close the gap on Premier League leaders Chelsea, but those ambitions would be much harder to achieve without their leading scorer.

Despite Kane’s absence, Tottenham were too strong for thirdtier Millwall and they marked the last FA Cup tie at the Lane before the stadium is demolished, with a commanding display.

Christian Eriksen opened the scoring and Dele Alli and Vincent Janssen were also on target, but it was Son who took centre stage with his treble.

Tottenham will discover their opponents for next month’s Wembley semifinals today, but news of Kane will be anticipate­d even more eagerly.

There was a tense atmosphere outside the stadium before kickoff, but a huge police presence managed to contain the threat of serious violence despite bottle throwing and minor scuffles.

Millwall arrived with a 17-match unbeaten run that included FA Cup upsets of Bournemout­h, Watford and Leicester, but facing a team of Tottenham’s class was a different propositio­n altogether.

Dominating possession with ease, Pochettino’s side battered Millwall from start to finish as they cruised to a 16th win from 18 home games this season.

Kane’s injury came early, the England star’s ankle twisting badly after Jake Cooper slid into him.

After several minutes of treatment, Kane limped off to be replaced by Eriksen.

It was a massive blow given Kane’s red-hot form had brought him eight goals in his last four appearance­s and 24 for the season. – AFP

 ?? Picture: EPA ?? AND THE SPURS GO MARCHING ON. Tottenham’s Heung Ming Son celebrates with team-mate Dele Alli after scoring his second goal in their FA Cup quarterfin­al against Millwall at White Hart Lane yesterday.
Picture: EPA AND THE SPURS GO MARCHING ON. Tottenham’s Heung Ming Son celebrates with team-mate Dele Alli after scoring his second goal in their FA Cup quarterfin­al against Millwall at White Hart Lane yesterday.

Newspapers in English

Newspapers from South Africa