Hat-trick hero Harry Kane was delighted with a clinical Tottenham Hotspur performance after they dispatched Fulham 3-0 at Craven Cottage in the Emirates FA Cup.
Mauricio Pochettino pulled no punches with his team selection as Dele Alli, Christian Eriksen and Harry Kane all thrived against Slavisa Jokanovic’s side.
England forward Kane hit his first after 16 minutes following sharp thinking from right-back Kieran Trippier and despite an array of promising chances, Pochettinho’s side went in 1-0 up at the break.
The 23-year-old grabbed his second after more enterprising play from Trippier and Christian Eriksen before Alli slid Kane in to complete his hat-trick.
And after watching Millwall and Lincoln claim monumental upsets yesterday, Kane was impressed by his side’s professionalism.
He said: “We have had a few disappointing results recently so we wanted to come here and get the win.
“We played very well and were comfortable – we maybe should have had a few more goals but it was a great game all round and we are happy to be going home with the win.
“It is never easy in The FA Cup as you saw yesterday with some of the results. We had to make sure we came here and did our job.”
After a lively opening 15 minutes, captain Kane put Spurs ahead with his 17th goal of the season when Trippier’s quick throw-in put Eriksen away and his cross found a well-placed and outstretched Kane boot, with the forward slotting home calmly.
Sone Aluko came closest to an equaliser for Fulham, but after going in 1-0 down, Trippier and Eriksen combined again for Tottenham down the right-hand side, with Eriksen swinging in the ball for Kane to calmly put home Spurs’ second on 51 minutes.
England forward Kane completed his hat-trick 20 minutes later. Dele putting him into space before whipping the ball past Marcus Bettinelli, and he admitted it was a relief to get his third.
“I thought I was going to be going off after I put a chance over the bar. I thought that was the last chance I was going to get,” he said.
“Luckily Chris gave it to Dele and then to me and I was able to sneak the third one in before I went off.”
Fulham (4-2-3-1): 1 Marcus Bettinelli; 4 Denis Odoi, 26 Tomas Kalas, 13 Tim Ream, 3 Scott Malone; 6 Kevin Malone, 14 Stefan Johansen; 24 Sone Aluko, 10 Tom Cairney, 11 Floyd Ayite; 7 Neeskens Kebano.
Substitutes: 8 Scott Parker 74, 9 Gohi Cyriac 66, 30 Ryan Sessegnon 56.
Substitutes not used: 15 Michael Madl, 20 Lucas Piazon, 25 Chris Martin, 27 David Button.
Head coach: Slavisa Jokanovic
Tottenham Hotspur (4-2-3-1): 13 Michel Vorm; 16 Kieran Trippier, 4 Toby Alderweireld, 5 Jan Vertonghen, 33 Ben Davies; 12 Victor Wanyama, 29 Harry Winks; 7 Heung-Min Son, 20 Dele Alli, 23 Christian Eriksen; 10 Harry Kane.
Substitutes: 17 Moussa Sissoko 75, 19 Mousa Dembele 79, 25 Josh Onomah 86.
Substitutes not used: 9 Vincent Janssen, 27 Kevin Wimmer, 30 Pau Lopez Sabata, 38 Cameron Carter-Vickers.
Head coach: Mauricio Pochettino
Goals: Kane 16, 51, 73
