Harry still has eye fixed on Golden Boot

IN THE pursuit of Liverpool’s Mo Salah and the Golden Boot, Harry Kane refuses to give way. Neither Kane nor his Tottenham team had all of this game their own way, but when the chance presented itself, Kane took it and his breath will feel slightly warmer on the back of Salah’s neck this morning. Kane’s goal arrived shortly after the interval, as he slashed home after diligent work by Son Heung-min. The strike deflected in off the Brighton defender Bruno. On the terraces, some joked that Brighton might launch a Kane-style appeal to claim the own goal. Ha-ha. Kane has accepted the humour, whether it be the jokes in the dressing room or Gateshead United’s Twitter feed teasing that their goal against Tranmere had been claimed by the striker. Tottenham manager Mauricio Pochettino kept an eye on Saturday’s FA Cup semi-final against Manchester United by resting some key players but Kane is always a fixture. The Spurs captain now has 26 Premier League goals to his name and he retains hopes of overcoming Salah to claim the Golden Boot. Liverpool’s forward has 30 and, to most footballers, such a gap would appear insurmountable with only four more games to play. Kane’s self-belief has sound foundations. After all, he ended last season with eight goals in his final three games. He may also sense a chance to capitalise on Salah enjoying some rest from domestic action as Liverpool pursue success against Roma on the continent. Yet even Kane’s clinical edge must improve if he is to chase down the Egyptian. Before this draw with Brighton, Salah averaged a goal every 85.8 minutes in the Premier League this season, compared to Kane’s one every 105.5 minutes. And prior to his goal here, Kane — who had struggled with his touch in the first half — had scored one goal in his past six games — although he did go off after half an hour with an injury at Bournemouth and also entered the stage late on in the win at Chelsea. Yet by his standards, it has been a lean spell, even with the hotly contested strike he claimed from his own team-mate Christian Eriksen at Stoke.