Harry Kane fears that Tottenham Hotspur’s lack of ruthlessness might have cost them their first league title since 1961. The striker said that his team’s 1-1 home draw with West Bromwich Albion on Monday night was a “gutting feeling” and it has left them seven points behind the leaders, Leicester City, with three games to play.
It was a game of tight margins, with Tottenham having hit the woodwork twice at 0-0 and once more after they had taken a 1-0 lead. Had Erik Lamela’s 58th-minute effort gone in for 2-0, rather than come back off the far post, Tottenham might have succeeded in maintaining the pressure on Leicester.
Instead, they were reeled in – Craig Dawson heading the equaliser for West Brom in the 73rd minute – and it was not the first time this season that Tottenham had squandered points at White Hart Lane from winning positions. They threw away a 2-0 lead to draw 2-2 with Stoke City; they lost 2-1 against Newcastle United, having been in front, and they conceded an equaliser to Arsenal in the 2-2 derby draw.
“We’ve got to put teams away,” Kane said. “We’ve had a few games like that this season where teams have come back to bite us. It’s disappointing. All we can do is move forwards and see what happens this weekend. We felt we did enough to win the game, especially in the first half. We had a lot of chances and had a couple come off the post. But that’s football.”
There could be worse to follow for Spurs should Dele Alli be charged with violent conduct after allegedly punching the West Brom midfielder Claudio Yacob in the stomach.
The England midfielder, who was voted PFA Young Player of the Year at the weekend, could face a retrospective three-match ban if found guilty, putting him out for the rest of the season.
It was easy to say after the event but these are the kind of matches that champions win – the narrow ones against opponents who compress the space and turn it into a battle, on mental and physical levels. It was niggly at times on Monday and questions could be asked about Tottenham’s composure.
“We’re becoming a very good team and teams below us want to come here and get a result,” Kane said. “They want to waste time, they want get into the referee, but that’s football. We’ve got to learn how to cope with that. We’re a young side and we’ve still got to learn.
“Maybe teams are trying to get under our skin. It seems everyone puts in 110% against us. But if you want to be a top team in this league, you have to be able to cope with that. We feel we are. We feel we have done well over the last few months coping with that. Monday was just one of those games. West Brom are a side that if you give them a chance and don’t put them to bed, they will come back to bite you.”
Tottenham visit Chelsea next Monday night but the title race will be over on Sunday if Leicester win against Manchester United at Old Trafford. United, though, need victory to keep alive their push for a Champions League finish and Kane wants to believe that it is not inconceivable there could be another twist.
“I don’t think it’s over,” Kane said. “There are still three games left. If Leicester lose the next game, you just never know, with the pressure. Obviously, it is now going to be a lot, lot harder, and it’s not in our hands. It’s in Leicester’s hands. If they win, they win. We’ve just got to go out and win our remaining three games.
“They would have to lose one and draw two and we’d have to win all three. It’s not impossible but it looks unlikely the way the season has gone so far. We can’t control it but we haven’t been able to control it for the last few weeks. They have been going out and doing their jobs, as have we. It was a shame we couldn’t get the three points against West Brom.
“The manager doesn’t say a lot after games, win or lose. Of course, we are all disappointed. We knew what was riding on it. But it’s done now. We can’t do any more. We played very well in the first half but the second half wasn’t up to our usual standard.”
Tottenham need two more points to be sure of a top-three finish; Manchester City host Arsenal on the penultimate weekend, meaning that one or both of them will drop points. Tottenham’s goal difference gives them a bit of breathing room – certainly with Arsenal. If they failed to pick up two points, there is the slim chance that they could finish in fifth.
“We have to dust ourselves off and try to win our last three games,” Kane said. “We want to finish as high up and with as many points as we can. It’s been a fantastic season so far, and we can’t get too down about the West Brom result. It’s a gutting feeling. We wanted to win the game but there are still three games left, and we can’t just fold it in. We’ve got to keep fighting until the end.”
