Sunday Mirror (Northern Ireland)
SON OF A GUN
Held back for a higher purpose, Poch star is only man that can give Pep a sleepless night
TOTTENHAM boss Mauricio Pochettino had Heung-Min Son right where he wanted him at the new White Hart Lane.
Sat in the dug-out.
The striker has been in that position plenty of times – picking up splinters in his backside, desperate for a chance.
But yesterday, it was different.
He wasn’t looking on in eager anticipation as Harry Kane, Dele Alli and Christian Eriksen were running riot, hoping for the opportunity to join in the fun – or, as it happened, watching hat-trick hero Lucas Moura write his own name in Spurs’ history with the first treble in the club’s plush surroundings.
No, he was being held back. Kept in reserve for an altogether higher purpose.
Wrapped in cotton wool – because while this £1billion sporting cathedral boasts fine dining and a microbrewery, heated seats and a retractable pitch, there is one glaring – but understandable – omission.
There is no off-the-shelf replacement for Kane.
True, incredibly Spurs have won all of their last five Premier League games that England’s captain has missed.
But damage to the striker’s ankle ligaments means that the club enters its crucial finale short of the one ingredient that can turn tight matches in their favour.
Such as the two clashes coming up at the Etihad during the course of the next week. And if you were Pochettino, would you want to take your chances without Son?
The best alternative available to Spurs’ boss – don’t forget Alli is struggling with a broken wrist – lies with him.
For some reason,
Pochettino decided to give the forward a three-minute cameo at the end – running the risk of injury ahead of Wednesday night’s return leg.
It was a strange call as the game had long been won. But the substitute did what he does, setting up Moura for his hat-trick with a pinpoint pass. Go on, my Son, indeed. But it should not have really been so. Why? Well, because the South Korean is the closest that the Argentine can come to giving Pep Guardiola a sleepless night before the second leg of the Champions League quarter-final tie.
For all the fact that Moura helped himself to a trio of well-struck goals and Eriksen can thread a pass through the eye of a needle, Pochettino needs his big-hitters against Manchester City. His teamsheet showed as much, with seven changes from the last game.
Son is one of those players the north Londoners cannot do without.
He has collected 19 goals so far this season, none more important than the one that pricked the aura of invincibility surrounding the Quadruplechasers last midweek.
He scores them against the big teams – and he scores important goals on all different stages.
The former Bayer Leverkusen striker can count himself unfortunate to be part of a squad that has serious options up front – and Moura’s potency was more than sufficient to dispatch Huddersfield who were in this game far longer than the scoreline suggests.
One alternative for Pochettino would have been to throw Fernando Llorente (left) into the mix.
Five years ago, that would have been a viable option but those 34-yearold legs aren’t going to carry the fight to a City team needing a win.
Against the Terriers, he didn’t show sufficient bite, although he was unlucky with one superb effort that thundered against the bar.
Late on, Son got the nod and needed but a few minutes to set up Moura who lashed home his first hat-trick on European soil.
It will be a different story on Wednesday – and there is no chance of him being on the substitutes’ bench this week.
When it really matters, Son is way too good for that.