Tottenham Hotspur vs Brighton and Hove Albion; The FA Cup Fourth Round
Tottenham Hotspur vs Brighton and Hove Albion. The FA Cup Fourth Round.
Tottenham Hotspur StadiumAttendance54,697.
Tottenham Hotspur 3
- H Kane (13th minute, 66th minute)
- S March (24th minute own goal)
Brighton and Hove Albion 1
- Y Bissouma (63rd minute)
Tottenham 3-1 Brighton: Harry Kane scores twice to help Spurs reach FA Cup fifth round
Match report as Harry Kane scored twice to help Spurs to a 3-1 home win over Brighton in the FA Cup fourth round; Kane opened scoring before Solly March's own goal gave Tottenham a 2-0 lead at the break; Yves Bissouma gave Brighton hope of a comeback, only for Kane to prod home a third
Sunday 6 February 2022 18:07, UK
Antonio Conte praised Harry Kane's "attitude and commitment" as the striker scored twice to help Tottenham beat Brighton 3-1 to reach the FA Cup fifth round.
Kane curled in a stunning opener from outside the box at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium in the 13th minute.
Spurs had a 2-0 lead at the break thanks to Solly March's own goal in the 24th minute, after the Brighton forward deflected Emerson Royal's cross past a helpless Robert Sanchez.
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Brighton then threatened a second-half comeback after Yves Bissouma's deflected strike in the 63rd-minute gave the visitors hope.
But three minutes later, Kane restored Tottenham's two-goal lead to ensure Conte's side progress to the fifth round of the FA Cup.
As much as individual honours matter to Kane, it is silverware that really drives him and he will be desperately hoping his boyhood club can progress in this competition and end a 13-year trophy drought.
It was a good night for Spurs, who introduced new signings Dejan Kulusevski and Rodrigo Bentancur, as Conte's formula continues to take shape.
Brighton defender Adam Webster will not want to see the replays as Tottenham took a 13th-minute lead.
The visitors had a let-off moments before as goalkeeper Robert Sanchez's pass across goal was cut out by Kane, but the England captain could not make proper contact with his attempts towards goal.
But, as Sanchez tried to recycle possession again, the Seagulls made another mistake that this time was punished.
Under pressure Webster mis-kicked a pass, Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg sent the ball on to Kane and Tottenham's main man did the rest, curling into the top corner from 20 yards in sublime fashion.
It was 2-0 11 minutes later and there was a large amount of fortune involved.
Emerson Royal ploughed a lone furrow down the right and his cross, with no one in the area, deflected off March and over Sanchez for an own goal.
Spurs were clearly in the mood and it should have been 3-0 five minutes later as a fast break saw Kane played in by Hojbjerg.
The striker looked set to score his second as he cut inside, but his chipped effort was off target and Heung-Min Son could not turn it in at the far post, although he was offside anyway.
Kane had further chances to add to his tally before the break, but he mis-controlled when in on goal and then saw Sanchez palm away a low effort.
The Seagulls tried to rally before the break, but Neal Maupay skewed an effort over following good play by Bissouma, while Jakub Moder fired over from the edge of the area.
They started the second half well and Hugo Lloris was forced into a smart stop to keep out a Bissouma deflected effort which foreshadowed what was to come in the 63rd minute.
After a spell of Seagulls pressure, Bissouma was allowed to run across the face of goal and got another shot away, which this time deflected off Hojbjerg and wrongfooted Lloris to give the visitors a way back into the game.
That hope did not last long as Spurs restored their two-goal lead just three minutes later as Kane got his second, but it was Son who did all the hard work.
The South Korean embarked on a run reminiscent of his Puskas Award-winning goal against Burnley, beating several Brighton defenders before eventually being stopped by Webster.
But the defender's tackle sent the ball towards goal and Kane slid home from close range.
Brighton should have immediately reduced the arrears again, but Maupay shot straight at Lloris when racing clear on goal.
Spurs were able to hand debuts to new signings Kulusevski and Bentancur and went on to miss a hatful of chances to close the game out.
Steven Bergwijn skied a sitter from eight yards out after being teed up by Kulusevski, while Sergio Reguilon fired straight at Sanchez but Spurs were already home and dry.
Conte praises Kane's 'attitude and commitment'
Tottenham boss Conte is pleased Kane's commitment is starting to be rewarded with goals.
Kane looks to be getting back to his best after a first half of the season where he looked a shadow of his usual self and has scored seven goals in his last 11 games.
Conte said Kane, who wanted to leave Spurs last summer, deserves the goals because of his team ethic.
"Harry, in the past, in the games that he didn't score, I liked his performance," he said. "Harry is a player who's scored a lot in the past as a number nine.
"But what we can appreciate - me and the whole team - is his attitude and commitment for the whole team. I think this is the most important thing for us.
"Then, for sure, to score two goals is important because he's a number nine, he's used to scoring goals.
"We are working on the physical condition with the team. We're trying to improve the intensity, also during the training sessions. I think all these situations can improve the performance with all the players."
Meanwhile, Brighton briefly threatened a comeback, but boss Graham Potter accepted his side did not deserve to progress.
"I don't think we were at our best tonight, that wasn't from a lack of effort. Credit to the opposition, Tottenham played well and were aggressive," he said.
"We also contributed ourselves, this can happen. Our attitude was great, but, if we were honest, we weren't good enough to win. We need to be at our maximum to win here and we weren't. Tottenham deserved to win.
"Sometimes it's not your night, you don't hit the levels you need to. Tottenham deserved to win and go through, we accept that. We wanted to go through, but it wasn't to be."
FA Cup fifth round draw in full
- Luton Town vs Chelsea
- Crystal Palace vs Stoke City
- Peterborough United vs Manchester City
- Liverpool vs Norwich
- Southampton vs West Ham
- Middlesbrough vs Tottenham Hotspur
- Nottingham Forest vs Huddersfield Town
- Everton vs Bournemouth or Boreham Wood
The ties will be played in the week commencing Monday February 28, 2022.