Sun 12 March 2023, 13:00
Tottenham HotspurEric Dier and Harry Kane agreed that an impressive first half performance laid the foundation for a comfortable 3-1 victory against Forest in the Premier League on Saturday.
On an afternoon where victory felt crucial after a tough 10 days, even more so after Liverpool lost at Bournemouth in the early kick-off, we dominated from the first whistle, had a goal disallowed after six minutes and were 2-0 up at the break thanks to Harry’s double.
Richarlison was denied the opener by a narrow offside call on VAR after rifling into the top corner but we didn’t have to wait long as Harry powered home Pedro Porro’s cross for 1-0. Richy was then fouled by Joe Worrall and Harry clipped home the penalty for 2-0. Richy set up Heung-Min Son for 3-0 on 62 minutes. Forest staged a late revival via Worrall’s goal, either side of which Fraser Forster tipped over from Serge Aurier and saved Andre Ayew’s penalty.
Eric Dier
“Missing the Milan game definitely hurt. It was the type of game you want to play. That’s football. It was good for us to get back out there and win. Hopefully we can move on from here. I thought we played with a lot of energy, lot of positivity, played some really nice football and managed to get ahead. In the second half we were bit more reserved, but a few of the boys started to feel it in their legs after the last couple of weeks. It was important to see out the game, and Fraser helped us with that as well.”
Harry Kane
“It was important for us to bounce back. It was a really solid performance. I thought we were a lot more clinical in the final third in our delivery and finishing. We’re going to need more of that from now until the end of the season. We started on the front foot, created chances and took them. In the second half we scored at the right time to kill the game. Obviously we’re disappointed to concede a goal at the end, but every game is tough, and it’s good to come away with a win but we’re not getting carried away. We’ve loads of games to go, and we move on to next weekend now. Fourth is definitely there to be had, and it was good to capitalise on Liverpool dropping points. There will be a lot of chopping and changing between now and the end of the season so we have to be ready and take our moments when they come.”
