Tottenham booked their place in the semi-finals of the FA Cup after thrashing Millwall in the last ever cup game to be staged at the current White Hart Lane.
A Heung-min Son hat-trick and goals from Christian Eriksen, Dele Alli and Vincent Janssen ensured Mauricio Pochettino’s side enjoyed a largely hassle free passage to the final four of the competition. But an early injury to Harry Kane slightly took the gloss off an otherwise productive afternoon.
Spurs started brightly from the off as they attempted to make light work of their League One opponents.
Kane was played in by Kieran Trippier down the right flank but was forced to take aim from a tight angle, before landing heavily on his ankle. The striker decided he could not carry on and was replaced by Eriksen after only six minutes of action.
And the reshuffle worked in the hosts’ favour just past the half-hour as Eriksen showed a clinical touch in front of goal to put Spurs ahead.
Alli cushioned a bouncing ball in the penalty area before allowing Eriksen to take over and find the far corner with a drilled finish. The sense of relief to Mauricio Pochettino’s celebrations was clear to see, as the hosts pushed forward for more.
Having watched Kane depart, Son took over the central striker role and he produced a stunning finish to double the home side’s lead approaching the half time interval.
The South Korean international has a reputation for scoring spectacular goals and he didn’t disappoint with his latest effort, as he arced an unstoppable strike past the outstretched arm of Thomas King.
And Spurs continued from where they left off in the first half as Son scored his second of the day just before the hour-mark.
Trippier launched a beautiful 40-yard pass directly into the path of Son – who didn’t even have to check his stride – before firing a measured volley into the back of the net and ending the game as a contest.
Pochettino’s side were in full flow and looked at their confident best as they entered the closing stages of the last ever cup-tie to be staged at the current White Hart Lane.
Trippier, once again was heavily involved, and he slipped in Eriksen with a cute pass before the Danish midfielder found Alli at the back post with a low cross, who smashed the ball high into the net to score his 16th goal of the season.
But the biggest cheer of the day was left for Janssen as he scored his first goal from open play to cap off a 12th straight home win for Spurs.
Son beat the offside trap before darting past his marker to tee up Janssen and he made no mistake as he wrapped his left foot around the ball to find the bottom left corner of the net.
And Son completed his hat-trick in the final minutes as his well hit volley crept under the body of Millwall goalkeeper King.
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(Via: CitiFM Online Ghana)
