Tottenham 5 Gillingham 0: Vincent Janssen off the mark as Christian Eriksen brace seals EFL Cup win

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James Olley21 September 2016

Tottenham eased into the EFL Cup fourth round after hammering Gillingham 5-0 at White Hart Lane as Vincent Janssen and Josh Onomah scored their first goals for the club.

Christian Eriksen broke the deadlock after 31 minutes with a stunning 25-yard strike before adding a second shortly after the interval.

Janssen netted from the penalty spot to open his account following a £18.5million summer move from AZ Alkmaar before Onomah marked his 23rd senior appearance with a smart finish from 18 yards.

Erik Lamela added a fifth as Spurs ran out easy winners against League One opposition – managed by former Spurs defender Justin Edinburgh – on a night when they dominated throughout.

Tottenham made 11 changes to the team that beat Sunderland 1-0 here on Sunday with Eriksen recalled alongside Kevin Wimmer, Kieran Trippier and Erik Lamela alongside several youngsters including Josh Onomah, Tom Carroll and Harry Winks.

Spurs quickly set about their task with Eriksen testing Jonathan Bond as early as the second minute with a long range effort that the Gillingham goalkeeper was required to push past his right-hand upright.

Cameron Carter-Vickers headed the resulting corner from Lamela just wide and the pattern of play was effectively set with the visitors only real threat coming from Ryan Jackson’s long throws.

Jay Emmanuel-Thomas headed one such delivery just wide but Spurs were firmly in the ascendancy as Lamela forced another save from Bond shortly before the quarter-hour mark.

Bond sustained an injury taking a goal kick and had to be replaced by Stuart Nelson, who should have picked the ball out of his net immediately but Janssen headed Trippier’s right-wing cross wide from an unmarked position six yards out.

Onomah forced Nelson into a smart reaction save to keep out his first-time volley but he was powerless to stop Eriksen giving Spurs the lead. Eriksen picked the ball up 25 yards out and unleashed a swerving, dipping effort that flew past Nelson and into the net.

Spurs were in complete control thereafter and Eriksen doubled their advantage three minutes after the restart, collecting Lamela’s pass as he burst into the box before stabbing a shot through Nelson’s legs.

Moments later, Janssen got the goal he had been craving. The Dutchman had been denied in a series of first-half chances but when Deji Oshilaja felled Tripper in the box, Lamela elected to give him the chance to open his account and he dispatched the penalty emphatically.

Eriksen was not risked beyond the hour mark as Pochettino handed a debut to Georges-Kevin Nkoudou and Spurs scored a fourth five minutes later with Lamela once again at the heart of things, laying on a pass for Onomah to guide a shot inside Nelson’s near post from the edge of the box.

Lamela deserved a goal for his creativity and it duly came shortly afterwards, benefitting from good hold up play by Janssen to steer a shot into the far corner.

Pochettino had volunteered and eye-raising comparison between Marcus Edwards and Lionel Messi on the eve of this game and the 17-year-old made his debut with 15 minutes remaining as Janssen was withdrawn with Saturday’s Premier League trip to Middlesbrough in mind.

Edwards almost produced a moment which would have done little to dampen such hyperbole, cutting in on his left foot as the game neared stoppage time and unleashing a 20-yard drive which Nelson tipped over at full stretch.

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