Tottenham Hotspur’s Érik Lamela ends his wait in style to sink Burnley
Spurs 2 - 1 BurnleyHarry Kane 21
Erik Lamela 35Ashley Barnes 27
When Érik Lamela’s left-footed rocket fizzed into the far corner of the Burnley net, it was tempting to think that it had been worth the wait. This was Lamela’s 26th Premier League appearance for Tottenham Hotspur since his record £30m move from Roma in the summer of last year and it was his first goal in the competition.
What a goal it was, one that was worthy of deciding any match and one that fired a bit of momentum for his club, on the back of Wednesday’s Capital One Cup quarter-final win here over Newcastle United. Tottenham’s season has been scarred by their inability to beat teams who sit below them in the table at home and Burnley’s visit presented a test of their mentality.
Lamela’s goal helped them to pass it. He picked the ball up on the right and with Ben Mee backing off, he drifted inside before unleashing a vicious shot from 25 yards that had too much on it for Tom Heaton. It was the high point of an individual performance that was marked by offensive menace but also looked a little flakey in defensive terms.
Tottenham lost Ryan Mason to a nasty-looking first-half injury and they laboured in the second-half. Burnley could point to several positives, among them Ashley Barnes’ excellent goal and patches of neat and energetic football. Their travelling fans, almost all of them resplendent in Santa hats, fervently believed. But they could not bend the result to their will.
Expectancy had bubbled around White Hart Lane and the atmosphere was fired by the prediction from the home seats that they were going to Wembley – for the Capital One Cup final. The chant could be heard at kick-off and, again, in celebration after Harry Kane’s opening goal.
What a season the 21-year-old is having. This was the first time that he had scored in the Premier League at the Lane but it was his 14th goal in all competitions this time out and it followed a piece of quick thinking from him and a collective lapse from the visitors.
Michael Keane handled from Kane’s ball forward and the Tottenham striker put the ball down and took the free-kick immediately, rolling it up towards Christian Eriksen. The Dane was offside, so he stopped and so did Burnley. Nacer Chadli did not and when he crossed from the left, with pace and precision, Kane was all alone to nod home from close range.
He does not miss from that range. Well, actually, he can, as he proved on 31 minutes after Lamela had beaten Mee and crossed low from the by-line. From two yards out, Kane somehow failed to make any connection. Eriksen blazed high when the ball ran across to him beyond the far post.
By then, Burnley were level. They had arrived with a bit of form behind them and the intention to carry the fight. It is always impressive to see Sean Dyche play with two strikers away from home and there was also the novelty factor of his all-British starting XI. Burnley looked to hold their shape and punch on the counter, and their equaliser was a beauty.
David Jones robbed Lamela, to expose the winger’s habit of dwelling in the wrong areas, and George Boyd worked it to Ashley Barnes. The striker took a touch to set himself and another to bend the ball into the roof of the net from outside the area.
The action crackled in the first-half. Burnley shouted for a penalty when Kyle Walker grappled with Barnes and there was the moment just before the interval when the non-stop Danny Ings found Dean Marney and he placed a shot just wide. For Tottenham, Kane was a threat – he cut inside to bang one effort beyond the far post – and Lamela’s goal got the home team back in charge.
Burnley enjoyed a purple patch at the beginning of the second-half. Three times, Ings wriggled into space to work Hugo Lloris. After a while, Tottenham manager Mauricio Pochettino could be heard to issue a simple instruction to his players: “Wake up.”
Tottenham were ragged in the second-half; Burnley the better team but, after the initial flurry, they never truly looked as though they would find a second equaliser, although the substitute, Ross Wallace, did work Lloris with a 90th minute free-kick. Tottenham got the job done.