Kane smiling again
Striker silences the ‘jokers’ and keeps Spurs on track for Champions League
Harry Kane may not have seen the funny side of all the jokes aimed at him in recent weeks, but the striker put a smile back on the faces of his Tottenham Hotspur fans.
Kane’s second-half goal made sure of a victory over Watford that keeps Spurs on course to clinch Champions League qualification and ended a wobble that had seen them fail to win in three games.
The England international may still be feeling his way back to his best, but he provided the perfect response to those who jumped at the chance to poke fun at him after claiming a goal from team-mate Christian Eriksen and failing to score against Manchester United in the FA Cup semi-final.
The self-appointed clowns at the Football Association and Professional Footballers’ Association need to find a new target for their attempts at humour.
Dele Alli had given Tottenham the lead thanks to a terrible error from Orestis Karnezis, but the home side were second best until Kane hit his 27th Premier League goal of the season to stay in touch with Mohamed Salah in the race for the Golden Boot.
“He needs to improve his performance still, but I’m happy; 150 Premier League games, 105 goals,” said Mauricio Pochettino. “What more can we say? Fantastic striker.”
Asked whether Kane was still recovering from his ankle injury, Pochettino replied: “It’s a mix of different things. It wasn’t a great period for him. He’s human like anyone and a little bit affected, but with help of everyone he’s doing well. He’s a strong guy, physically and mentally. I am sure he will perform for us and no doubt arrive in good condition for the World Cup.”
Kane said: “I try to improve every year. Last year I got 29, so I would like to try to beat that. Last year was an unbelievable end, but we will see what happens. In my mind now I’m just trying to get to the 30 mark.”
The win means Pochettino’s men are five points ahead of fifth-placed Chelsea and just one behind Liverpool with a game in hand. It also leaves Watford, who have not scored away from home since Jan 2, still unsure of their Premier League safety.
Pochettino said: “It wasn’t a great performance, but the most important thing is we are in a good position with three games ahead and it will be a very successful season if we finish in the top four.”
Tottenham looked like a team in
need of a helping hand during the opening exchanges and they duly got it in the 16th minute.
Kieran Trippier’s cross should have been easy for Karnezis, but the Watford keeper spilt the ball, Christian Eriksen toed it into the path of Alli, who produced a composed finish.
Andre Gray was given his first Watford start since the FA Cup defeat to Southampton in January and the club’s record signing squandered a great chance to equalise.
Eric Dier played a careless pass to former Spurs midfielder Etienne Capoue, who sent Gray through on goal. The striker, though, was denied by goalkeeper Hugo Lloris.
This was the first of Tottenham’s final three games scheduled at their temporary Wembley home and there were plenty of empty seats. It was not a picture that Shahid Khan will be selling to the NFL if he is successful in buying the stadium.
Despite sharing it with the likes of Eriksen and Mousa Dembele, Will Hughes was the most creative player on the pitch during the first half. He sent Abdoulaye Doucoure through and Lloris had to charge from his goal to tackle the 25-yearold and rescue the home team.
That intervention had come just moments after the Frenchman had saved well from Richarlison.
Keen to silence the jesters, Kane had only an early shot to show for his efforts during the opening period and the home crowd breathed a sigh of relief when referee Michael Oliver signalled half-time.
But it took just three minutes of the second half for Kane and Spurs to wake up and get back on track.
Trippier, who had been Tottenham’s most effective player down the right, put the ball on a plate for Kane, to side-foot a shot into the net and celebrate with his team-mates.
Watford manager Javi Gracia made a double change shortly after the hour mark: Troy Deeney replaced Gray and Gerard Deulofeu took over from Kiko Femenia.
But it was Tottenham who went close to adding to their advantage as Jan Vertonghen headed another Trippier delivery against the post.
A disallowed goal gave the travelling Watford fans the chance to have some fun at Kane’s expense, but he will not have cared this time.
Kane will still believe he can get the last laugh over Salah and Tottenham can now concentrate on trying to overtake Liverpool, rather than looking over their shoulders.