HARRY SEES OFF POTTERS
Kane strikes as Mourinho closes in on Wembley
BEN DAVIES and Harry Kane helped fire Jose Mourinho’s men into the Carabao Cup semi- finals as Tottenham dodged a bullet.
The deadly duo proved they can do it on a wet Wednesday night in Stoke with superb second- half strikes to keep alive Spurs’ hopes of winning their first trophy since 2008.
Jordan Thompson had equalised in the 53rd minute with his first goal for Michael O’neill’s side as the hosts threatened to push their Premier League opponents to the limit.
That neat finish had cancelled out the opening effort from Gareth Bale, who fired Spurs ahead with a superb header in the 22nd minute, his third goal since returning to the club from Real Madrid.
But two goals in the last 20 minutes from Davies and Kane finally killed- off the brave resistance of the Championship outfit.
Yet it was a less- than- happy return to the side for outcast Dele Alli, who missed a host of chances before being hauled off in the second half after being blamed for the Potters’ leveller.
Mourinho, who has won this competition with both Chelsea and Manchester United, had promised to make changes and he did just that.
He made seven in total but the problem for O’neill’s men was that two of them saw Bale and Alli make rare starts.
It was Alli’s first start since November 26 while fellow internationals Kane,
Eric Dier, Hugo Lloris and Harry Winks also started in a strong line- up.
The home side, meanwhile, made six changes as they looked to reach the semi- finals for the first time since 2016.
O’neill, who recalled James Mcclean, was without four goalkeepers and asked veteran Andy Lonergan to solve the crisis at the age of 37.
Lonergan was fourth- choice at champions Liverpool last season and this was his first competitive appearance since turning out for Rochdale against Scunthorpe 21 months ago.
He was called into action within the first three minutes when Davies’ swirling cross forced him into a desperate clearance as Spurs piled on the early pressure.
The former Preston keeper was alert again in the 13th minute to block a powerful strike from Kane.
For the first 20 minutes Bale looked like he had put his boots on the wrong feet as he laboured in the freezing cold.
But class like his is permanent and he proved it in the 22nd minute with a sublime glancing header from Winks’ cross to put Spurs ahead.
Alli could have doubled the visitors’ lead in the 35th minute but was denied by the legs of Lonergan, who then blocked another shot from Kane moments later.
The veteran stopper was keeping O’neill’s men in the game and he tipped away Alli’s curling effort shortly before half- time.
Forgotten man Alli was lively but his frustrations continued after the break when he failed to connect with a fine pass from Kane and was then at fault for the hosts’ equaliser out of the blue.
His flick came to nothing, allowing O’neill’s men to break down the right flank through Jacob Brown, who picked out Thompson and he squeezed a low shot past Lloris at his near post to make it 1- 1.
Mourinho was not happy and hauled Alli off minutes later for Erik Lamela, before the pair exchanged words close to the dugout.
But Davies made Mourinho smile again with a drive in the 70th minute, before Kane sealed the win with a thumping finish 11 minutes later.
Spurs are now just 90 minutes from an April date at Wembley.
STOKE ( 3- 4- 3): Lonergan 8; Collins 6, Souttar 6, Batth 5; Smith 6, Cousins 5, Thompson 7, Fox 6 ( Fletcher 34, 6); Oakley- Boothe 5 ( Vokes 79), Brown 6 ( Powell 72), Mcclean 6.
TOTTENHAM ( 4- 2- 3- 1): Lloris 7; Doherty 7, Sanchez 7, Dier 7, Davies 7; HOJBJERG 8, Winks 7; Alli 7 ( Lamela 66, 6), Moura 7 ( Sissoko 66, 7), Bale 7 ( Son 46, 7); Kane 7.
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