Tottenham 4 West Brom 0: Harry Kane hat-trick fires Spurs second as Mauricio Pochettino’s side cut Chelsea’s lead

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Sam Long16 January 2017

Harry Kane's hat trick helped Tottenham climb to second place in the Premier League table this afternoon with a comfortable 4-0 victory over West Brom.

The striker, who missed the FA Cup victory over Aston Villa due to the birth of his daughter, returned with a bang in an extremely one-sided affair at White Hart Lane.

Mauricio Pochettino opted to stick with the same side which ended Chelsea's 13-game winning streak and was not disappointed as Spurs, to a man, produced a commanding display to equal their own Premier League club record of six consecutive wins.

The Baggies' reputation is built on resilience but it took just two minutes for the hosts to carve out an opportunity as Danny Rose's whipped cross found Kane, only for the striker's flick to skip just wide of the far post.

But the 23-year-old did not have to wait long for another chance and he made no mistake by coolly flicking Christian Eriksen's cute through ball over an advancing Ben Foster.

Spurs dominated the early exchanges but Hugo Lloris was forced to spring into action and deny Salomon Rondon from close range, though it would have been pulled back for offside regardless.

The Venezuela international's effort proved to be a rare bright sport for Tony Pulis's men as chances soon began to flow for Spurs with Kyle Walker and Danny Rose causing havoc in wide areas.

The second goal arrived when an unfortunate Gareth McAuley deflected Eriksen's cross into his own net, wrong footing Foster in the process.

Dele Alli had the ball in the net soon after but was denied by the linesman's flag while Foster - who was responsible for keep the scoreline respectable - was on hand again to stifle Kane at the near post.

Photo: AFP/Getty Images
AFP/Getty Images

Spurs should have been out of sight by the break but the visitors returned for the second half with the bit between their teeth as Matt Phillips fashioned a decent opportunity before firing wide.

Alli's penalty appeals were waved away after he stepped across Craig Dawson but there were no signs his frustration would boil over it did against these opponents last season.

Instead the 20-year-old responded with a sublime piece of skill to bamboozle Darren Fletcher before finding Kane, who was yet again denied by an inspired Foster.

Tottenham's three-man defence was untroubled throughout but Jan Vertonghen's injury will be a cause for concern.

The Belgian defender appeared to roll his ankle while challenging for the ball and was evidently in some pain before being withdrawn.

But Kane was on hand to end the game on a positive note by lashing Eriksen's cross into the roof of the net and exchanging passes with Mousa Dembele before poking home his 13th goal of the season.

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