Kane rescues Spurs with late winner at Palace

– Early chances –

Ben Davies should have done better after Andros Townsend unexpectedly failed to clear Eriksen’s free-kick although the left-back insisted he had a strong claim for a penalty after colliding with Hennessey.

Then two minutes later, an even better opportunity fell to Kane who was uncharacteristically wasteful when Patrick van Aanholt sliced a clearance into the forward’s path. Kane was only eight yards out but placed his shot too close to Hennessey who diverted the effort over the bar.

A third Palace error allowed Dele Alli to evade the offside trap and collect Eriksen’s floated ball over the top but the England midfielder rushed his attempt to direct a header over the onrushing Hennessey.

? Mauricio: “I’m so happy. I think we were confident and we dominated the game completely. The win was fully deserved.” #COYS pic.twitter.com/GxSeOvJkO0

— Tottenham Hotspur (@SpursOfficial) February 25, 2018

It seemed only a matter of time before Palace’s defence would be unpicked and Timothy Fosu-Mensah was fortunate an offside flag meant his clear foul on Kane inside the home area went unpunished.

But Hodgson’s side grew in confidence and began to cut out the mistakes as the first half progressed.

They offered little going forward, but by getting bodies behind the ball, the home side halted a succession of Tottenham attacking moves, leaving Kane frustrated at the lack of opportunities to come his way.

A sliced shot that flew high and wide by Kane early in the second half confirmed things were not going the visitors’ way. And having withstood the early pressure, Palace began to appear increasingly threatening on the counter-attack, without ever managing to test keeper Hugo Lloris.

Alexander Sorloth, the striker signed during the last transfer window, led two breaks that ensured Tottenham were forced to apply a degree of caution as they pursued the breakthrough.

But the visitors’ frustration was compounded when a third penalty appeal was rejected, this time after Alli went to ground following a clumsy challenge by Van Aanholt, before relief came in the form of Kane’s header.