Kane header secures emotional win against Seagulls

Harry Kane’s first-half goal was enough to secure victory at the Amex Stadium on Saturday afternoon as we beat high-flying Brighton in a challenging encounter.

It was the perfect way to pay tribute to Gian Piero Ventrone, our fitness coach who sadly passed away on Thursday at the age of 61, with our players warming up in t-shirts in honour of him ahead of the game before digging deep during the 90 minutes to pick up three hard-earned points in emotional circumstances.

We started on the front foot, Robert Sanchez keeping out Heung-Min Son’s fourth minute free-kick before our wing-backs combined, Matt Doherty getting on the end of Ryan Sessegnon’s deep cross but couldn’t keep his effort down. And our efforts were rewarded on 21 minutes when Son collected Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg’s pass from a cleared corner and whipped in a cross which Kane flicked into the net.

The hosts responded well and pushed us back in search of their equaliser, Moises Caicedo’s long-ranger pushed away by Hugo Lloris, Lewis Dunk headed over from a corner, Solly March drilled just wide and Lloris was called into action again to keep out Danny Welbeck, but we led at the break.

It was a far more even second half and it wasn’t until 62 minutes that the first big chance came after the interval, Kane rolling Dunk to get a clear sight of goal but dragging his effort wide. Son had the ball in the net with a stylish curler but it was ruled out for offside, while at the other end, Doherty showed great defensive awareness to get across and tackle Leandro Trossard as he shaped to shoot from eight yards out.

Brighton, with manager Roberto de Zerbi in charge for his first home game, threw men forward in the closing stages but we held out for a big win on the south coast, with captain Lloris subsequently parading a shirt with Gian Piero's name on the back in front of our travelling supporters, who responded emotionally by singing his name aloud.

'We showed great personality'

Antonio Conte told SPURSPLAY after the game: "It was a good win, and we showed great personality here. We played a good game with a lot of pressure, we accepted the man-to-man in every zone all over the pitch and I think we deserved to win a difficult game. Don’t forget Brighton is a really good team, their position in the table shows they are doing really well, they had a really good start to the season and to win away here isn’t easy."

Reaction on SPURSPLAY

Highlights on SPURSPLAY

Match data

Goals: Spurs – Kane 22.

Yellow cards: Brighton – Veltman; Spurs – Kane, Bissouma.

Referee: Tony Harrington.

Venue: Amex Stadium.

Weather: Sunny and light winds, 14 degrees.

Attendance: 31,498.