Tottenham Hotspur 1-1 West Bromwich Albion
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Harry Kane has now scored 40 goals for Spurs in 2017
Striker Harry Kane said Tottenham's performance was "not good enough" after his late equaliser denied managerless West Brom an important win at Wembley.
Spurs fell behind on four minutes as Jake Livermore played in Rondon, who nudged off Davinson Sanchez and rolled the ball past Hugo Lloris.
But England forward Kane finally broke the visitors' resistance by tapping a Dele Alli cross through Ben Foster's legs on 74 minutes.
The draw leaves Spurs 10 points behind leaders Manchester City and five behind second-placed Manchester United.
"It leaves us quite far behind in the league," said Kane, who has been involved in 100 Premier League goals in 128 games.
"We have to look back and see why we were slow getting going in the first half. But it's not good enough."
Kane's equaliser denied the away side a first victory in any competition since August and they are now 12 games without a win, a point ahead of 18th-placed West Ham.
The match came six days after West Brom sacked manager Tony Pulis, with his former assistant Gary Megson in temporary charge and Alan Pardew favourite for the job.
Former Bolton boss Megson had not managed a Premier League team since 2009.
He told Match of the Day: "The players are in tomorrow, but whatever else goes on is nothing to do with me."
Baggies show fighting spirit
West Brom's heatmap (right) shows how much defending they did compared to Tottenham (left)
Megson said during his pre-match interview that he was "not Tony Pulis with ginger hair".
His team produced a performance not far removed from the Pulis era, and the spirit they showed will encourage the incoming manager.
Megson made only two changes to the side that lost 4-0 at Chelsea last weekend, with Sam Field and Allan Nyom replacing Grzegorz Krychowiak and Gareth McAuley.
After snatching the early lead, they were content to sit back and restricted Spurs to just two shots on target in the first half.
Foster frustrated the hosts by slowing the game down at every opportunity, and he was eventually booked by referee Mike Jones in the 82nd minute.
In front of him, captain Jonny Evans epitomised a disciplined defensive performance, marshalling his backline alongside Ahmed Hegazi and Nyom.
It was therefore unfortunate that Evans' one lapse in concentration let Kane in for the equaliser as the West Brom defence was finally breached.
The Baggies struggled at the other end - having just six touches in the Spurs box - though Rondon did have a chance to nick a win at the end.
Spurs' Premier League blip continues
Tottenham looked tired after their midweek win at Borussia Dortmund in the Champions League, and they switched off for West Brom's opener.
The Londoners had 72.6% possession in the game, but failed to carve out many clear-cut chances.
A lack of willing runners hindered their attacks in the first half, with Son Heung-min their only real threat. Kieran Trippier put in cross after cross, but could not find Kane.
Spurs boss Mauricio Pochettino took something of a gamble early in the second half, sending on midfielder Mousa Dembele and striker Fernando Llorente for midfielder Harry Winks and centre-back Jan Vertonghen.
The change certainly gave Spurs' more attacking impetus, and their equaliser - when it came - was deserved.
But they have gone off the boil in domestic competition, winning just one of their past four league games.
Man of the match - Jonny Evans
Jonny Evans almost captained his team to an important and unexpected win. Kane's equaliser aside, he was excellent in defence alongside Hegazi and will be crucial to West Brom's fortunes this season.
Both managers left disappointed
Tottenham manager Mauricio Pochettino, speaking to Match of the Day: "I think we are disappointed because the effort from us was massive but we conceded the goal so early in the game, and they had the belief to play deep, so it was hard for us to move the ball.
"In the last 15 minutes we increased our level and created a lot of chances to score but we weren't clinical. It is always difficult in the Premier League when you concede a goal so early, it changes the way the team wants to play.
"I'm disappointed because we lose two points. Now, we need to look forward now and try to win the next game."
Spurs dropped two points - Pochettino
West Brom caretaker manager Gary Megson, speaking to Match of the Day: "Having led for so long it was disappointing to concede the manner of the goal we did, whoever we're playing against - a team as good as Spurs or whoever.
"They've had a lot of possession, but not many clear chances, so we defended really well actually, apart from their goal. In terms of the week we've had, the performance we've put in and the energy the players had - I'm really happy with them, they can be really pleased with their efforts."
Spurs' Real Madrid tactics did not work against Baggies - Megson
What's next?
West Brom host 13th-placed Newcastle in the league on Tuesday (20:00 GMT), while Tottenham travel to 11th-placed Leicester (19:45 GMT).
Stats - Kane's goalscoring feats continue
Kane has been involved in 100 Premier League goals in his 128 games - 87 goals and 13 assists.
Kane has scored 47 goals in 45 appearances in all competitions for club and country in 2017.
Four of the last five Premier League games between these two sides has been drawn. Of all Premier League fixtures to have been played at least 20 times, only Everton v Leicester (56.5%) has been drawn a larger percentage of the time than Tottenham v West Brom (47.8%).
Spurs have dropped as many points in their first seven Premier League games at Wembley this season than in their previous 23 league games at White Hart Lane (nine points dropped).
Tottenham have conceded in four of their last five Premier League games, this after recording four clean sheets in their previous five.
West Brom have kept just two clean sheets in their last 25 Premier League away games.
- Published21 November 2017
