King Harry the Spurs saviour
Kane’s late double sinks Hammers
HARRY KANE had been very quiet, West Ham were within minutes of a famous derby win and Tottenham’s unbeaten start to the season was all but over.
Gloom was descending upon White Hart Lane when Kane stirred,tucking away a finish from Heung-min Son’s cross a minute from time.
Only he was not content with the equaliser. Seconds later, he scored again, this time from a penalty won by Son.
Emotions were chucked into the blender. Spurs were jubilant as they ended a winless run of seven games in all competitions.
West Ham were distraught, finishing the game with 10 men when Winston Reid was sent off in stoppage time.
Michail Antonio had put the visitors ahead in the first half with his sixth headed goal of the season and his 11th headed goal of the calendar year.
Spurs dominated possession but did not manage a shot at goal until five minutes into the second half, when 20-year-old Harry Winks marked his league debut by scoring his first goal for the club.
And referee Mike Dean soon stepped in with the first of his two penalty decisions. He noticed Vincent Janssen pulling back Reid as he attempted to reach a corner and Manuel Lanzini put the Hammers back in front.
There were 22 minutes to survive for Slaven Bilic and his team and they almost made it.
Then Kane arrived and, when he is scoring, Tottenham are a totally different proposition.
Spurs went into the game without a goal other than penalties for more than a month. It has been a long wait, contributing to their winless run and Christian Eriksen thought he had lifted the pressure when he found the net in the sixth minute.
The Dane burst clear and finished neatly in the opening minutes but a flag was up for offside and his wait for a first Premier League goal of the season went on.
Bilic selected an ambitious team and West Ham came out with a sense of purpose.
Diafra Sakho was making his first appearance of the season. His days at West Ham seemed over but a £15million move to West Brom collapsed in August due to the back injury which then kept him out for the first three months of the season.
Fit again, Bilic thrust him back into the team, one of three changes to the side which drew with Stoke on their last outing.
The fluent front three of Sakho, Dimitri Payet and Andre Ayew disturbed the meanest defence in the top flight.
Former Motherwell star Darren Randolph was preferred to Adrian in goal. Captain Mark Noble was suspended but Reid returned after injury to take the armband and played a key role in the opening goal.
A corner taken from the right by Payet was thumped against the bar by Cheikhou Kouyate. The rebound skidded to Reid, who hooked a volley towards goal, where Antonio pounced to nod it past Hugo Lloris.
Spurs’ groans of despair have been rare in the last 12 months, with Mauricio Pochettino making strong progress. This campaign, however, has delivered new challenges and the anxiety bled on to the pitch.
Mousa Dembele was booked for disputing referee Dean’s decision to award a foul for a gentle nudge on Sakho and a well-timed sliding tackle by Jan Vertonghen denied Payet soon after the interval.
But in 56 minutes, Spurs levelled through Winks. Randolph’s first save of the game was a fine one, parrying from Eriksen, but he could do nothing as the ball fell to the young midfielder, who forced it into the net before making a euphoric sprint into the arms of his manager.
The goal drought broken, Spurs were in the hunt for more. Having looked so comfortable, West Ham were suddenly on the defensive. A fierce drive from Danny Rose was blocked and Randolph saved a header from Eric Dier.
Bilic’s team were fading but his changes made an impact and Lanzini kept his cool to score with the penalty.
Tottenham, however, refused to give in. Their spirit is strong — none stronger than Kane’s.