Spurs hitman has worked hard to rediscover form

THERE were five moments against Brighton that may have gone largely unnoticed but were still significant for Tottenham and also England.

They weren’t the two goals or the final whistle which signalled the end of Spurs’ mini-crisis.

But all of them involved Harry Kane and came in a performance which he candidly admitted was the first he was “truly happy with” this season.

The first was an alert burst onto a loose ball and change of pace to draw a foul from Gaetan Bong just before his 42nd-minute penalty opener after Glenn Murray handled in the box in blocking a free-kick.

The second was a blur of sharp, close control that saw Kane slip effortlessly past Bong again and kept Spurs in possession.

Then came a show of strength and pace as he wrestled with Lewis Dunk before racing away down the right.

Cruel

Next was a trademark Kane effort – minimal backlift but maximum power – which Mat Ryan could only spill behind.

Lastly Davy Propper and Martin Montoya were left trailing in his wake as Kane, still full of energy at the death, sped away from both before testing Ryan again.

That Brighton broke and Anthony Knockaert scored their consolation was unfortunate and it would have been cruel if Kane’s miss proved costly.

Because this was the first time in a long while that he looked something like the rampaging Kane of old.

Shots were fired in, his movement was livelier, when he needed to hold the ball up it stuck. Kane was a constant threat again.

He said: “Of course I feel I could have done better in most games this season. It was probably the first game I was truly happy with my all-round performance.”

Those who judge strikers purely on goals can point to six in nine league games following his comeback from injury last season, a World Cup golden boot and what he called a “not terrible” three in six league games this term.

Scratch beneath the surface, though, and many of his numbers had fallen,