KANE’S WORLD
Harry hat-trick helps Spurs stroll the derby
HARRY KANE led Spurs into the FA Cup quarter-finals with a stunning hat-trick to inflict his usual misery on Fulham.
Gaffer Mauricio Pochettino revealed he held clear-the-air talks after defeats to Gent and Liverpool last week.
And the Argentine sent out a strong side to sweep aside the English Championship club with captain Kane taking his tally to 10 goals in his last 10 games – and 20 in his last 22 London derbies.
Pochettino said: “It’s not only about scoring goals for Kane. He’s not only a great player but a great person as well.
“A very good professional with England, with the club, with the team. A good example for all.
“We’re very proud to have not only a player but a man, with how he is.”
Tottenham found Fulham obliging opponents.
Slavisa Jokanovic’s men try to play good football but they are powder-puff up front and posed very little threat.
They even gave their rivals a helping hand at the 16th-minute opener. Fulham defender Tim Ream put the ball out of play with a careless pass, Kieran Trippier’s quick throw released Christian Eriksen and his cross found Kane who slid in to score.
Incredibly, that was Tottenham’s first goal from open play in 375 minutes. No wonder they had gone off the boil.
It was the same combination which provided No.2 after 51 minutes. Trippier’s pullback found Eriksen, his cross picked out Kane and his cool finish went through Fulham keeper Marcus Bettinelli’s gaping legs.
The third came after 73 minutes when Eriksen found Dele Alli and his perfectly-timed pass put Kane clean through to bury his shot. This was Tottenham’s first away win since January 1 and they go to Wembley on Thursday looking to overturn the 1-0 Europa League first-leg loss to Gent.
Poch added: “After Gent we had a few meetings with the players and the reaction ● Matches to be played on weekend of March 10-13 was fantastic. I am very pleased. This was a great opportunity to show that we are alive and to end that bad feeling after two defeats.
“We have another ‘final’ at Wembley on Thursday so we’ll need to feel fresh and to bring some confidence back.”
Kane, who has now scored 19 goals this season, said: “I want to play every game.
“We’ve not had great results recently so we wanted to come here and win.
“We played very well, we were comfortable and probably should have had a few more goals. It was a great game all round.”
Fulham boss Jokanovic admitted his side had been out-classed.
The Serb said: “After two defeats, they didn’t want to take too many risks. It’s very clear they came into the game with the highest level of concentration.
“They played as if they were playing against Chelsea. They put us under their control for 85 per cent of the game so the result is fair.”
NEIL McLEMAN FA CUP QUARTER FINAL DRAW Chelsea v Manchester United Middlesbrough v Huddersfield or Man City Tottenham v Millwall Sutton or Arsenal v Lincoln