Conte has Spurs on song
Fans chant his name after Italian boss brings unity
THEy were three goals to the good with the heat of the contest long gone and it felt like a key stage in tottenham’s rehabilitation process as Antonio Conte’s name rang around the ground.
Harmony has been a stranger to the tottenham Hotspur Stadium ever since the Mauricio Pochettino era spluttered to a close. too many simply could never accept Jose Mourinho as his successor and Nuno Espirito Santo’s tenure was brief and insipid.
Conte, however, has restored a feeling of unity, as well as stirring some fire and passion, and he raised his hands to applaud the home crowd.
‘I wanted to say thanks,’ he said. ‘I have only been here for one month and maybe it’s too early but they trust in my work.
‘Good results help you, and I want to show in the future that I deserve this.’
Aside from the embarrassment of defeat against Slovenian minnows NS Mura, Conte’s Spurs are shaping up nicely.
His first four Premier league games have delivered 10 points, seven goals and only one conceded, and a climb to within two points of the top four.
these four games, however, have been against opposition from the bottom half of the table and three successive victories have come despite yielding the bulk of possession to leeds, Brentford and Norwich.
Here, 3-0 was very flattering. there were long periods in the first hour when Norwich dominated only to be let down by their lack of quality in front of goal.
Spurs took control after the interval, when goals by davinson Sanchez and Son Heung-min added to a fabulous 10th-minute opener scored by lucas Moura.
Moura collected a pass from Sanchez, spun and jinked past Billy Gilmour, trading passes with Son as he wriggled, searching for space outside the penalty area.
the Brazilian twisted away from teenager Andrew omobamidele, one of Norwich’s three centre halves, and went for goal, his drive exploding from 20 yards and screaming into the top corner.
‘Natural for me, my kind of game,’ shrugged Moura as it if was not his first Premier league goal since February. ‘I started to dribble, found space and just decided to shoot.’
tottenham opened shakily and might have gone behind inside three minutes, when Adam Idah cut a lot cross back to teemu Pukki, who forced Hugo lloris to save, low to his right.
lloris suffered some anxious moments with the ball at his feet as Spurs tried to play out from the back. the keeper gave one pass straight to Pukki who was only eight yards out, but, as they did more than once, the visitors failed to turn a promising situation into anything tangible.
Norwich feasted on long spells of possession in the first half. Gilmour was impressive on the ball, spraying passes around from his position deep in midfield. yet rarely did Smith’s team penetrate enough to threaten lloris.
when they did, the finishing was comically poor. the clearest chance came early in the second half, when the score was still 1-0. Brandon williams carved down the left and into the penalty area, from where he teed up Pukki.
Again, the Finn scuffed his shot so badly that it turned into a pass to Idah, in front of goal and six yards out. Idah reacted quickly and made better contact. with everyone in the ground braced, waiting for the net to bulge, the ball flashed wide.
tottenham, who lost Sergio Reguilon injured in the first half, were always dangerous when they sprang forward on the turnover of possession.
oliver Skipp forced tim Krul into his first save of the game. Harry Kane went close when he stumbled into a mishit shot by Son, and missed a wonderful chance when he chipped Krul on the break only to see his effort drift wide.
Spurs were a much more progressive force after the interval and seized control once they scored the second.
Krul denied Kane with a fine save at full stretch, and then conceded from the corner. Son’s delivery, flicked on by Ben davies, struck Ben Gibson in the stomach and fell to Sanchez, who lashed it into the net.
‘we have to defend set-pieces better,’ grumbled dean Smith, after his first defeat as Norwich boss. ‘we have to learn to defend better. the longer you stay in the game, the more chance you have to take something out of it. we were the best team in the first half and I thought our performance deserved more, but you have to nod your head to quality.’
Krul continued to frustrate Kane, still stuck on one Premier league goal for the season, but Son claimed his sixth of the campaign, collecting a pass from davies and making space in a crowded area before finding the bottom corner and triggering the chorus of approval for Conte. TOTTENHAM HOTSPUR (3-4-3): Lloris 6.5; Sanchez 7, Dier 6.5, Davies 6.5; Tanganga 6 (Doherty 62min, 6), Skipp 7.5, Hojbjerg 6.5, Reguilon 6 (Sessegnon 22, 6); MOURA 8 (Bergwijn 80), Kane 7, Son 7. Scorers: Moura 10, Sanchez 67, Son 77. Booked: Reguilon. Manager: Antonio Conte 7 NORWICH CITY (3-5-2): Krul 6.5; Omobamidele 6, Hanley 6, Gibson 5; Aarons 6, McLean 6, Gilmour 6 (Sorensen 81), Lees-Melou 6 (Dowell 72, 5), Williams 6; Idah 5.5 (Sargent 69, 5), Pukki 5. Booked: Pukki, Gilmour. Manager: Dean Smith 6. Referee: Jarred Gillett 5.5. Attendance: 57,088.