Sat 29 September 2018, 17:17|
Tottenham Hotspur
It was deja-vu for Harry Kane and the team as we secured a hard-fought win at Huddersfield Town on Saturday.
Almost a year ago to the day, the striker hit a quickfire double as we beat the Terriers 4-0, putting the game away by half-time with a 3-0 lead.
This time around, Kane did it again with goals on 26 and 33 minutes as we took control at 2-0 after a fast start from the home side.
Kane had already been denied one-on-one by goalkeeper Jonas Lossl when he rose to power home Kieran Trippier's cross for 1-0. That was goal number 144 in all competitions and took him ahead of Jermain Defoe (143) and into fifth in our all-time goalscoring list. Huddersfield defender Terence Kongolo was injured in the build-up and stretchered off.
Just seven minutes later it was 2-0 as Danny Rose played a one-two with Heung-Min Son and was dragged down by substitute Florent Hadergjonaj. Kane stepped up and made no mistake from the spot.
In between, Paulo Gazzaniga made one of two key saves to tip away Chris Lowe's scorcher from 30 yards, while Laurent Depoitre hit the bar just before the interval.
The second half was all about game management with Harry Winks and Victor Wanyama on for Jan Vertonghen and Mousa Dembele at the restart.
There were a few chances on the break, notably for Lucas Moura, denied by Lossl on 50 minutes and then by Christoper Schindler's tackle three minutes later, and then Son, who fired straight at the goalkeeper.
It's important we got the first goal and calmed the nerves a bit, but it was tough, it was windy, the pitch was dry.
At the other end, Gazzaniga was at full stretch to claw Isaac Mbenza's curler out of the top corner but generally we were excellent defensively, strong under a barrage of crosses and long throws.
Key moment
Kane deserved his two goals after another hard-working display but it was the second one, scored from the spot, that really dealt a blow to the hosts, who are yet to score a home league goal this season.
After Rose was hauled down, the striker was his usual focused, composed self from 12 yards to fire in for 2-0 and put daylight between the sides, allowing us to see out a third victory in seven days in all competitions.
"It would have been nice to get the third and fourth in the second half," admitted the front man, who once again captained the side.
"We had a couple of good chances or good opportunities, maybe just the wrong ball at the wrong time. Overall, clean sheets win you matches so the defence will be happy with that, we’re all happy with that because we all work hard for that so it's a big win for us and (we move) on to the next one."
Mauricio's view
Mauricio Pochettino was satisfied with the way the team made sure of the three points. "The Premier League is always tough and today we played against a very aggressive team, so physical and yes, I’m so happy, so pleased," he said.
"The attitude and how we fought and approached the game was fantastic."
On getting ourselves ahead early on, just like our last trip to the John Smith's Stadium, the boss continued: "Every season is different, every game is different and, of course, that is the ideal world but it’s impossible to always maintain the same level.
"The team read the game very well and that was so important because we created a lot of chances."
Reaction on Spurs TV
Huddersfield Town 0-2 Spurs
Huddersfield Town (3-5-1-1): Lossl, Zanka, Schindler (Mbenza 72), Kongolo (Hadergjonaj 30), Durm, Mooy, Hogg (c), Billing, Lowe, Pritchard (Mounie 85), Depoitre. Substitutes (not used): Hamer, Smith, Van La Parra, Stankovic.
Spurs (3-4-2-1): Gazzaniga, Alderweireld, Sanchez, Vertonghen (Wanyama 46), Trippier, Dier, Dembele (Winks 46), Rose, Lucas, Son (Sissoko 90), Kane (c). Substitutes (not used): Whiteman, Davies, Lamela, Llorente.
Match data
Goals: Spurs - Kane 26, 33 (pen).
Yellow cards: Huddersfield - Zanka 44, Billing 86; Spurs - Rose 67, Winks 81.
Referee: Craig Pawson.
Venue: John Smith's Stadium, Huddersfield.
Weather: Sunny, 13 degrees.
Attendance: 23,885.
