BEVERLY HILLS, November 08, (THEWILL) – Prolific England striker Harry Kane scored his 150th Premier League goal to snatch a 1-0 victory for Tottenham Hotspur away at West Bromwich Albion on Sunday.
Despite starting with Kane, Son Heung-min and Gareth Bale in attack, Jose Mourinho’s side delivered a largely flat attacking performance against the Baggies.
Nigeria centre back Semi Ajayi stood in their way and was there when the best of the early chances fell to the Korean winger Son, blocking the eventual shot over.
West Brom twice almost had the breakthrough in the 18th and 26th minutes. First, left winger Karlan Grant nodding a good Darnell Furlong cross wide and Spurs defender Eric Dier heading well off the line with Grant lurking.
It was not until the hour mark that Spurs registered a shot on target. Spanish left back Sergio Reguilon stung the palms of Baggies keeper Sam Johnstone with a speculative strike from outside the box.
Argentine central midfielder Giovani Lo Celso, on for the injured Tanguy Ndombele, had a great chance to make a swift impact but fired wide from barely 10 yards out.
Midfielder Conor Gallagher clipped the post from the edge of the box in the 69th minute. And, goalie Lloris reacted superbly to tip away a Grant header following a corner, as the best of West Brom’s chances went begging.
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Johnstone thought he had secured a share of the spoils keeping out a strike from Brazilian Carlos Vinicius, but his indecision as Irish right midfielder Matt Doherty swung in a high ball allowed Kane to head in the winner in the 88th minute.
The win means Mourinho’s side jumps temporarily to the top of the table. They will remain there for the duration of the international break if Leicester City and Liverpool fail to win later on Sunday. Their unbeaten run in the league now stands at seven, while West Brom remain winless and on only three points from eight matches.
Kane, who reached 200 goals in all competitions for Spurs this week, is on 150 goals in the top flight in only 218 appearances. Only Alan Shearer (212 games) and Sergio Aguero (217) reached that tally quicker.
Slaven Bilic who was deeply unhappy when West Brom offloaded Ahmed Hegazi, will be pleased with the performance of the Nigerian Ajayi, who has since found some fine form in the back for West Brom. The Nigeria centre-back was outstanding against Kane, Son and Bale, with a team-high five tackles, four interceptions, three blocks and 11 possessional gains.
Bale, who scored the winner against Brighton and Hove Albion last week, offered little in his first league start since rejoining Spurs. He could only muster two shots and attempted just 21 passes, the fewest of any of Spurs’ starting XI.
Spurs face the tough prospect of a home game against Manchester City when play resumes on Saturday, November 21. It is the same for West Brom who resume duties after the international break at Manchester United on the same day.
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