Tottenham 1 West Brom 1 match highlights: Harry Kane rescues Spurs after Salomon Rondon hits early opener for managerless WBA

HARRY KANE denied West Brom their first Premier League win since August with his 40^th goal of 2017 for Spurs.

The England striker stabbed in Dele Alli’s 74^th minute cross from close range after drifting in behind Albion skipper Jonny Evans.

PA:Press Association

Yet Mauricio Pochettino’s men made hard work of it against managerless Albion, who sacked Tony Pulis on Monday and are expected to appoint Alan Pardew next week.

Nobody was more surprised than the travelling Albion supporters when their team took a fourth minute lead through Salomon Rondon.

But the goal was nothing to do with some newly-discovered attacking intent on the part of the visitors and was solely down to Tottenham’s sloppiness.

Alli conceded cheap possession to Jake Livermore, whose through ball should have been intercepted by Davinson Sanchez but who allowed himself to be shrugged off the ball by Rondon.

PA:Empics Sport

PA:Press Association

The Venezuelan striker still looked to have a hell of a lot of work to do but his unconvincing shot caught keeper Hugo Lloris flat-footed as it trickled inside the far post with barely enough power to make it over the line.

It was only West Brom’s fourth away goal of the season and one they were clearly going to defend with their lives.

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With everyone behind the ball and keeper Ben Foster infuriating the Wembley crowd with his time-wasting tactics, the visitors were determined to frustrate a Tottenham team fresh from topping their Champions League group with Tuesday’s win in Dortmund.

Pochettino switched to four at the back in an attempt to force a breakthrough but it wasn’t until that 27^th minute that Kane produced Spurs’ first meaningful attempt on goal with a low shot which flew just wide.

Son Heung-Min brought the first save of the match from Foster and had another shot deflected over just before half-time as the home team tried to force a breakthrough.

Reuters

Yet as hard as they tried, Spurs simply could not break down Albion’s stubborn resistance and the visitors almost doubled their lead with a Matt Phillips shot which flew just the wrong side of the far post.

But Spurs were not to be denied and finally gained their reward when Kane claimed his 15^th of the season for Spurs.

FACTS, STATS, GOALS AND LOLS

Harry Kane became the fourth top-flight player in Europe to reach 40 clubg goals in 2017 – and Cristiano Ronaldo is NOT one of them.

Barcelona’s Lionel Messi tops the list on 47, followed by Paris Saint-Germain’s cheapest striker Edinsion Cavani on 46 and Bayern Munich hitman Robert Lewandowski on 41.

West Brom have now gone 11 Premier League games in a row without victory.

Getty Images - Getty

Getty Images - Getty

HANNAH MCKAY

DREAM TEAM RATINGS

STAR MAN – HARRY KANE (TOTTENHAM)

TOTTENHAM: Lloris 6, Dier 6, Sanchez 7, Vertonghen 6 (sub 60 mins, Llorente 6), Trippier 7, Eriksen 6, Winks 5 (sub 61 mins, Dembele 6), Alli 6, Davies 6, Kane 8, Son Heung-min 7. Booked: Dier.

WEST BROM: Foster 6, Nyom, Hegazi 6, Evans 7, Gibbs 6, Phillips 7, Livermore 6, Barry 7 (sub 79 mins, Yacob 6), Field 6 (sub 67 mins, McClean 6), Rodriguez 6 (sub 67 mins, Robson-Kanu 6). Rondon 7. Booked: Foster, Nyom 6, Gibbs, Barry.

HANNAH MCKAY

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