KANE IN SEVENTH HEAVEN
IT PROBABLY isn’t as easy as he makes it look but Harry Kane’s hat-trick here was an exhibition of seemingly effortless brilliance. Right place. Right time. Right finish. As easy as one, two, three, you might say.
‘He’s just a one-season wonder,’ sang the travelling fans, mocking those who ever dared to doubt their master marksman.
In fact, he is now a three-season wonder: 21, 25 and 29 his returns in the Premier League since breaking into the team in 2014.
It is perhaps unnerving for the rest of the division that Kane is on an upward trajectory and it is little surprise that manager Mauricio Pochettino immediately challenged him to break the 30-goal barrier next season.
He could — and almost certainly would — have done that yesterday had Pochettino not withdrawn him 11 minutes from time.
The Argentine cited a ‘physical problem’ as the reason but there did not seem too much wrong with Kane as he scampered through and slotted his third goal just minutes earlier.
‘It is fantastic for Harry to win the Golden Boot and also for our fans,’ said Pochettino. ‘I’m so happy. But after he scored his third, he had a bit of a physical problem. I took responsibility and it was a good decision to keep him safe.
‘Next season, I’ll challenge him to score 30 goals. He can do that. He is still improving. He is already one of the best strikers in the world but he is willing to learn.’
Quite how Spurs have signed off from this season with no trophies is a mystery. They have worn the look of champions since December — when they broke, on reflection, a costly run of one win in six in the league — and this rout was a 12th victory in 13 league matches.
It was a ruthless display and Tottenham should kick off as title favourites in August, so irresistible have they been of late.
Their seven-goal haul saw them edge one in front of Chelsea and finish on 86 goals for the season.
Kane had his first on 11 minutes and he made it look so simple, steering a left-footed shot into the bottom corner.
Two minutes later, Kieran Trippier centred for Kane to turn in from close range and he should have made it three inside 20 minutes but swept wide after collecting Dele Alli’s cute back-heel on the penalty spot.
Alli made no mistake in first-half stoppage time as he finished a clever attack, involving Kane and Son Heung-min.
Sam Clucas pulled one back for Hull with a deflected effort on 66 minutes but Victor Wanyama headed a fourth for Spurs from Christian Eriksen’s free-kick.
The Danish supplier had earlier laid on Kane’s first and he, like Alli, might have been deserving of the star-man prize had it not been for their free-scoring comrade.
And Kane made sure of his second match ball in four days when he strode on to Alli’s through ball and slotted under Scotland keeper David Marshall.
He was then substituted and roundly applauded. Kane, though, looked a little miffed given that he was one shy of 30.
The best goal of the afternoon arrived on 84 minutes when leftback Ben Davies blasted in from 20 yards and Toby Alderweireld turned in a Trippier cross to finish the scoring three minutes later.
It was embarrassing for Hull, whose manager Marco Silva was serenaded throughout but will almost certainly quit the club.
‘Now is not the moment,’ he said when asked about his future. ‘I need to analyse what is best for the club and my career.’