Late flurry sees off Morecambe - match report and reaction

Harry Kane and Lucas Moura stepped off the bench to turn the tide of our FA Cup tie against Morecambe with late goals to see us through at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium on Sunday afternoon.

Trailing to a first-half strike from the League One side, we levelled it up through Harry Winks in the 74th minute before first Lucas and then Kane scored in the final five minutes, having only entered the game a little while earlier.

Despite dominating for the most of the first half – although without really testing Morecambe goalkeeper Trevor Carson – it was the visitors who grabbed the lead in the 33rd minute when their skipper Anthony O’Connor found himself unmarked in the area from a corner and he side-footed home to the delight of the travelling support in the North Stand.

The second period was played almost entirely in the Morecambe half as we pushed for an equaliser and it finally came from Winks, who was probably aiming for someone in a white shirt with his free-kick wide on the right but it flew over everyone and into the net.

With five minutes left, Lucas dispossessed Ryan McLaughlin on the half-way line and raced clear to round Carson and slot home to give us the lead, while Kane wrapped up proceedings with a neat turn and shot into the far corner to book our place in the fourth round.

Late goals help avoid cup upset

Morecambe arrived in N17 fourth from bottom of League One and with only two wins from their previous eight games, but they almost caused a big cup shock as they pushed us all the way. The stats will show we had 79 per cent possession and 26 attempts at goal but, while we were clearly the dominant team, we didn’t create too many clear chances until the final quarter and the introduction of fresh legs from the bench.

It actually only took 37 seconds for our first opportunity, McLaughlin missing his kick which allowed Tanguy Ndombele a run at goal from the inside left, his effort was blocked by O’Connor and from the corner, Ben Davies headed just over the bar. Morecambe’s first shot on target followed on six minutes, Shane McLoughlin’s 20-yard drive saved low down by Pierluigi Gollini, while we hit the woodwork on 20 minutes when Matt Doherty managed to get his head on a deep corner to the back post and his effort bounced off the outside of the upright. Giovani Lo Celso then had a shot blocked after good work from Ryan Sessegnon down the left.

At that stage we were totally dominant in terms of possession, but the visitors went ahead from their first corner of the game on 33 minutes. Alfie McCalmont delivered it and O’Connor found himself unmarked eight yards to side foot past Gollini. In the final minute of the first period, Lo Celso sent a free-kick into the wall, the ball came out to Sessegnon who clipped over a cross which Doherty met with a header but it was straightforward for Carson in the Morecambe goal.

The visitors had the first half-chance after the break, Cole Stockton hitting a shot on the turn over the bar from 15 yards out, before a Winks corner was flicked goalwards by Dele Alli and was heading in until Carson’s fingertips pushed it over the bar. Again, we were by far and away the dominant team as we pushed and probed for an equaliser, Sessegnon having a good sight at goal when he picked up possession after Dele tumbled in the area but lashed the loose ball wide. O’Connor was then in the right place to block Lo Celso’s left foot shot before we made a triple change – Kane, Lucas and Oliver Skipp replacing Dele, Bryan Gil and Ndombele.

And five minutes later we were level. Doherty was fouled by Ryan Cooney wide on the left, Winks stepped up to take the set-piece and his right-footed ball high into the box eluded everyone, including Carson as it ended up in the back of the net. We should have taken the lead on 76 minutes, Lucas nodding Winks’ cross back into the danger zone but Kane headed wide, while Winks fizzed just over as the pressure continued to build on the Shrimps.

Kane then threaded a lovely pass in to Lo Celso who took a touch and hit one from 22 yards which Carson got a good hand to before we finally went ahead five minutes from time. It was a horrible moment for McLaughlin, who received the ball in acres of space, turned towards his own goal but then suddenly had Lucas closing him down. The Brazilian nicked possession, sprinted towards goal and calmly rounded Carson before rolling the ball into an empty net.

That knocked the stuffing out of Morecambe, who were already visibly tiring by then, and we settled the tie on 88 minutes. Substitute Emerson Royal hassled Greg Leigh right down by the goal-line to win the ball, found Lo Celso who in turn laid off to Kane who, with his back to goal, took one touch and drilled low into the far corner. That was job done, but we were certainly made to work hard for it!

Eight changes

In team news, Antonio Conte made eight changes from the midweek defeat at Chelsea in the Carabao Cup with only Doherty, Tanganga and Davies retaining their places. Gollini, Bryan and Joe Rodon made their first starts since the defeat to Mura in the Europa Conference League on 25 November and it was Lo Celso’s first start since we lost at home to Manchester United on 30 October.

Morecambe gave debuts to their new loan signings Carson and Jacob Bedeau from Dundee United and Burnley respectively. Our former striker Jon Obika was among their subs and came on late in the game, but manager Stephen Robinson – who played for us in the mid-1990s – unfortunately missed the game after testing positive for COVID-19. His recently-appointed assistant Diarmuid O'Carroll took charge of the visitors in his absence.

Reaction on Spurs TV

'For a big part of the game, we struggled'

Antonio said after the game: "I think for a big part of the game, we struggled. In this type of game, you have to score, because if you don’t score, you can find during the game a block of players trying to defend the result. Then, it can happen through a set piece to concede a goal. That happened today. We can do much better.

"The target is okay, because we tried to give a chance to the players who didn’t play so much in the last period, at the same time, to give a bit of rest to players like Harry Kane and Lucas Moura, who have played a lot in this period. At the end, we reached this target, and that’s important. For sure, we have to analyse the game and to keep the positives and try to improve the negatives."

Match data

Goals: Spurs – Winks 74, Lucas 85, Kane 88; Morecambe – O’Connor 33.

Yellow cards: Morecambe – Diagouraga, Cooney.

Referee: John Brooks.

Venue: Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.

Weather: Sunny intervals, gentle breeze, two degrees.

Attendance: 40,310.