Fulham 0-3 Spurs

Harry Kane’s second hat-trick in just over five weeks secured a 3-0 win at Fulham and put us into the quarter-finals of the FA Cup on Sunday afternoon.

The striker shook off a slight knock to his knee sustained in the Europa League defeat at Gent on Thursday night to lead the line and get us back to winning ways, sending the Championship side crashing out of the competition in the process.

It could have been more, too, as a host of chances came our way in the first half but Kane, wearing the captain’s armband, was on point with one goal before the break and two after it to send us into the sixth round of the competition for the first time since 2012.

Centre-back Jan Vertonghen also marked his return from a five-week injury lay-off – ironically, the 4-0 win over West Bromwich Albion on January 14 in which he last saw action also saw Kane grab a hat-trick – to help the team keep a clean sheet.

The draw for the next round takes place this evening at around 6.30pm.

Team news

Mauricio Pochettino made five changes to the team that started against Gent on Thursday night. Michel Vorm took over from Hugo Lloris in goal, Kieran Trippier and Vertonghen replaced Kyle Walker and Eric Dier at the back while Heung-Min Son and Christian Eriksen came in for Mousa Dembele and Moussa Sissoko in midfield.

Key action

Goal: Fulham 0-1 Spurs – Harry Kane – 16mins
Eriksen was denied by Fulham goalkeeper Marcus Bettinelli and Dele Alli drilled just wide early on after a bright start, but Kane put us ahead after a sweeping right-sided move. Quick thinking and an equally speedy throw-in from Trippier on the right picked out Eriksen down the flank, whose whipped cross was prodded in by the stretching striker from close-range. It could have been two shortly afterwards, but Dele couldn’t get a clean shot away after some initial good control when he found himself in on goal.

Chance: Eriksen blasts over – 26mins
Vorm almost gifted an equalizer to Tom Cairney but recovered quickly to make a low save. We piled on the pressure, though, and it could have been two when Eriksen fired over from four yards out. Cairney was closed down, allowing Kane to release the midfielder on goal, but he rifled over from a difficult angle.

Goal disallowed: off-side flag thwarts us – 28mins
It could have been 2-0 shortly before the half-hour mark when Dele set up Kane in the box. The striker’s shot was saved but the off-side flag was up early against him, meaning Harry Winks’ excellent finish on the rebound didn’t count.

 
Above: The lads congratulate Harry Kane on his opener.

Goal: Fulham 0-2 Spurs – Harry Kane – 51mins
Our high pressing forced the Cottagers into all kinds of mistakes at the back, but the shooting chances wouldn’t quite fall for us until six minutes after the break when Kane doubled his tally, profiting from another pinpoint cross from Eriksen. Trippier picked up the ball on the right and cut it back to the Dane, who crossed for Kane to flick home from six yards out. Dele put one over the bar eight minutes later as we continued in the driving seat.

Chances: both sides close – 71mins
Kevin McDonald went close with a header from Stefan Johansen’s corner as Fulham enjoyed a lively spell while, at the other end, Dele’s chipped through ball found Kane in the box, but his delicate effort fell just over the bar to deny him a third.

Goal: Fulham 0-3 Spurs – Harry Kane (hat-trick) – 73mins
Kane’s deserved treble finally came when Dele slipped him through first-time following a pass from Eriksen. The striker raced in behind the defence in the right channel, kept his composure in front of goal and blasted past Bettinelli before celebrating his achievement in front of the travelling Spurs fans. Ex-Spur Scott Parker later tested Vorm with a header but was off-side anyway, while substitute Sissoko and Victor Wanyama both saw efforts saved in the last moments.

Mauricio Pochettino said

“We took the game with the right attitude, very focused and tried to show our quality and fight. I’m very happy to return to that (winning) feeling after two defeats – that was important for us and a big boost of confidence ahead of Thursday (Europa League, round of 32, second leg against KAA Gent). That was very important for us today. After Liverpool and Gent we were all disappointed in how we started. This was completely different and that is all about spirit, the team, quality – all those things were there today and that shows the character and the quality to recover in the right way.”

Harry Kane said

“We needed that win. It’s been a tough week, not the best and we wanted to come here, get the win and progress to the next round. It was a good performance. I thought we were solid all around the pitch and deserved to win.”

Match data

Fulham (4-3-3): Bettinelli; Odoi, Ream, Kalas, Malone; Cairney (c), Johansen, McDonald (Parker 74); Aluko (Cyriac 66), Ayite (Sessegnon 57), Kebano. Substitutes (not used): Button, Madl, Piazon, Martin.

Spurs (4-2-3-1): Vorm; Trippier, Alderweireld, Vertonghen, Davies; Wanyama, Winks (Dembele 79), Eriksen, Dele (Onomah 86), Son; Kane (c, Sissoko 75). Substitutes (not used): Pau Lopez, Carter-Vickers, Wimmer, Janssen.

Goals: Spurs – Kane 16, 51, 73.

Referee: Robert Madley.

Up next

KAA Gent visit Wembley for our Europa League, round of 32, second leg tie in an 8.05pm kick-off on Thursday (February 23). The Belgian side lead the tie on aggregate through Jeremy Perbet’s strike at the Ghelamco Arena.