West Brom 0-3 Tottenham Hotspur
- Published
Spurs up to fifth in the table
Kane gets 19th and 20th goals of season
Eriksen gives Spurs early lead
West Brom's first defeat of 2015
Harry Kane scored twice as Tottenham brought Tony Pulis's unbeaten start as West Brom manager to an end.
Christian Eriksen opened the scoring after just six minutes with a brilliant free-kick and Kane doubled the lead with a powerful right-foot shot.
The Spurs striker added his second from the penalty spot, his 20th goal in all competitions this season.
Craig Dawson's header against the crossbar before the break was as close as the hosts came to scoring.
Defeat ended a five-game unbeaten run for Pulis, and the former Stoke and Crystal Palace manager's side put on a lacklustre performance.
Spurs, meanwhile, were clinical and victory in their ninth match of the month moves them above Arsenal, albeit possibly only for 24 hours. The north London rivals meet at White Hart Lane next Saturday.
Having scored a late equaliser in Spurs' League Cup semi-final second leg at Sheffield United in midweek, Eriksen was soon back on the scoresheet.
After Claudio Yacob was penalised for a clumsy challenge on Mousa Dembele, Eriksen's well-struck free-kick evaded Ben Foster, who got a hand to the ball but could not prevent the Dane's ninth league goal of the season.
All good things come to an end... |
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Eriksen's goal was the first time West Brom had conceded in 266 minutes of Premier League action. |
Dembele was also involved in the second goal, the Belgian using his strength before laying the ball off to Kane, who cut back onto his right foot to fire his shot past the helpless Foster.
After a quiet opening spell, West Brom came close to scoring three times before half-time. Spurs goalkeeper Hugo Lloris denied James Morrison and Yacob with excellent saves, while Dawson's header following a free-kick slammed against the crossbar.
But it was Kane who scored next, sending Foster the wrong way with a clinical spot-kick after a Kyle Walker cross hit the raised arm of Joleon Lescott.
And the 21-year-old striker came close to a hat-trick when his free-kick forced Foster into a fine save.
At the other end, a poor touch from Saido Berahino denied West Brom a rare scoring opportunity and summed up a below-par day for the West Midlands outfit.
West Brom manager Tony Pulis:
"The first 20 minutes were very disappointing, we started flat and flaky in many respects. Then their keeper has made two wonderful saves, and we needed that goal to get back into the game, then it would have been game on.
"We had opportunities, but it was not our day."
Spurs manager Mauricio Pochettino: "I'm very pleased and very proud, it was a great performance, we played one of our best games since the beginning of the season.
"This was a challenge, it's always difficult when you've gone to a final in difficult conditions and then be ready to play a tough side like West Brom. The key was to be focused, keep our concentration and our character was excellent."
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