Pochettino hails Tottenham’s hat-trick hero Kane
Tottenham Hotspur's Harry Kane celebrates scoring his side's second goal against Fulham (pic Nick Potts/PA) - Credit: PA Wire/PA Images
Fulham 0 Tottenham Hotspur 3
Fulham's Ryan Sessegnon (left) is challenged by Tottenham Hotspur's Kieran Trippier (pic John Walton/Empics) - Credit: EMPICS Sport
Tottenham boss Mauricio Pochettino was delighted to see Harry Kane hit a hat-trick to down Fulham at Craven Cottage and send his side through to the quarter-finals of the FA Cup.
England striker Kane opened the scoring with only 16 minutes gone, after Kieran Trippier’s quick throw-in caught the home defence nappying, and clipped home Christian Eriksen’s cross early in the second half.
A composed strike from Dele Alli’s through ball completed the treble for Kane and Pochettino told BBC Sport: “It is always important for the striker to feel the net.
“We are a collective, there can be different names, but we must compete.”
Tottenham Hotspur manager Mauricio Pochettino issues instructions on the touchline at Craven Cottage (pic John Walton/Empics) - Credit: EMPICS Sport
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Pochettino named a strong side, following a 1-0 Europa League loss at Gent on Thursday, and saw Spurs dominate early on, with Eriksen’s shot tipped wide by Marcus Bettinelli and Alli pulling another effort wide.
Championship side Fulham, with 12 goals in their last five matches, failed to seriously test Michel Vorm, until the keeper passed the ball to midfielder Tom Cairney and then had to redeem himself with a good save.
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Kane’s goals either side of the break left Spurs firmly in control, while Fulham saw Kevin McDonald head narrowly over from a corner and former Tottenham midfielder Scott Parker nod straight at Vorm.
After seeing his side caught cold by Liverpool in the Premier League at Anfield a week earlier, conceding twice inside 20 minutes, Pochettino added: “I am very pleased. We started the game with great urgency.
“We tried to show that we wanted to go to the next round. I am very happy, after two defeats.
“We had to recover the right feeling after two defeats. We had to believe in the way we work and play and that is what is important. We had lost that a little bit.”
With a place in the last eight already secured, alongside Chelsea, Middlesbrough, Millwall, Lincoln City, Spurs will now look to overturn their one-goal deficit against Gent at Wembley on Thursday to reach the last 16 of the Europa League.
Spurs: Vorm, Trippier, Alderweireld, Vertonghen, Davies, Winks (Dembele 79), Wanyama, Eriksen, Alli (Onomah 86), Son, Kane (Sissoko 75)
Unused subs: Janssen, Wimmer, Lopez, Carter-Vickers.
