Spurs kept on pushing for a late goal at Selhurst Park and finally it arrived in the 88th minute

Spurs boss Mauricio Pochettino praised the mindset of his players after they overcame Crystal Palace with a late goal at Selhurst Park.

It seemed for a long period in south London that Tottenham Hotspur would drop points in the Premier League and lose ground in the race for the top-four.

Palace goalkeeper Wayne Hennessey had denied Harry Kane, Ben Davies and Serge Aurier before he was finally beaten with two minutes of normal time remaining.

Christian Eriksen’s deep corner found Kane at the back post and his header just about got past the home custodian to earn Spurs the points.

Pochettino said: “We deserved the victory. Late but, in the end, we fully deserved the game. It wasn’t easy to play against a team who are difficult to break down, but the win was important.

“Harry missed the first few chances, but in the end his character made him keep pushing, keep trying, and achieve what he wanted.

“All the top players can miss chances. But what makes this type of player a top player is that, the moment after they miss, they forget about it and try and create or take another. The important thing with the team is we are more mature; we never give up.”

Kane appeared to be having an off day on Sunday having volleyed wide from close range before seeing a cross-cum-shot blocked by a Palace defender.

He nearly won Tottenham a first-half penalty as well, but the offside flag saved Palace and their defender Timothy Fosu-Mensah.

Although the linesman prevented Spurs winning a spot-kick on that occasion, they maybe should have been awarded a penalty when Hennessey collided with Davies in the 10th minute.

Nothing was given, but Pochettino added: “For me, the action of Hennessey on Davies was a clear penalty.”

It didn’t matter in the end though and with Chelsea dropping points at Old Trafford hours later, it was vitally important the Lilywhites won on Sunday.

Tottenham now have a two-point cushion over the Blues in fifth and are four behind second-placed Manchester United.

Additional reporting by Press Association.