Kane hits brace to trigger Spurs triumph
Tottenham Hotspur Kane 63, 65, Vertonghen 71 3 AFC Wimbledon 0
Mauricio Pochettino warned Tottenham Hotspur cannot afford to take Harry Kane for granted after the striker opened his goalscoring account for 2018. Kane netted twice to help Tottenham into the fourth round of the FA Cup as, despite the personal records, he and Pochettino both seek their first piece of silverware.
Spurs have been given another reminder of how tough it can be for even the Premier League’s best clubs to hold on to their stars after Liverpool agreed to sell Philippe Coutinho to Barcelona in a £142 million deal. Pochettino hopes that Kane can become a one-club man, but is realistic enough to acknowledge that Tottenham must play their part in making sure the love affair continues.
Kane could earn considerably more by leaving Spurs and would also be almost guaranteed trophies at one of Europe’s biggest clubs.
“Harry is so special,” said Pochettino. “Because he loves Tottenham and he has always been at Tottenham. But we need to be clever how we manage him.
“The player needs to choose to stay here, you cannot force the player to stay here. Our job is to try to work together and try to achieve everything we want at the club.
“I told him only a few special players like [Francesco] Totti can spend all their career in one club. I think Harry is this type of player because he loves Tottenham. But, in football, you cannot be sure.”
Pochettino had originally been asked whether or not Coutinho’s move was a boost to Tottenham’s Premier League top-four hopes, but the Argentine decided to take a different approach to the question. “I think it is a massive example or massive point to show how this business is,” he said. “How difficult it is for the clubs to keep their best players.
“Liverpool is one of the best clubs in the world and it shows when Coutinho, or a player like Coutinho, wants to leave, how difficult it is to keep your best player. If another club pays the type of money they pay – like Barcelona with Liverpool – how do you stop it?”
The AFC Wimbledon manager, Neal Ardley, admitted that he thought it was a “wind up” when he saw Kane’s name on the team-sheet.
Kane was not even born when the Crazy Gang beat Liverpool in the 1988 FA Cup final and the England international succeeded where John Aldridge had failed by finding a way past a Wimbledon goalkeeper at Wembley. But Tottenham had survived a major firsthalf scare before Kane broke Dons’ hearts with two goals in three second-half minutes.
Jimmy Abdou’s shot looked like it was heading towards the top corner until stand-in Spurs goalkeeper Michel Vorm managed to tip the ball on to the underside of his crossbar and then save the follow-up shot from Liam Trotter.
Kane himself had gone close on a couple of occasions before the break, but it was two goals just after the hour mark that killed the tie. For the first, Kieran Trippier played in Moussa Sissoko down the right and the midfielder’s cross was converted by Kane.
The 24-year-old then doubled his and Tottenham’s tally by sweeping the ball into the net after a Kyle Walker-peters shot had been deflected into his path.
Not even a thunderbolt from Jan Vertonghen, which increased Tottenham’s lead to three goals, stopped the Wimbledon fans taking great delight in jeering former MK Dons midfielder Dele Alli, who was sent on as a substitute.
Pochettino took Kane off before he had the chance to complete his hat-trick and the FA Cup may yet prove to be an important competition for the two men Tottenham must keep hold of.