It was an enjoyable Friday night for Tottenham Hotspur fans, especially those who travelled to Prenton Park to watch the FA Cup third round clash with Tranmere Rovers.
After a slow start, a fairly changed side found the right gear and treated watching fans to a seven-goal barmstormer. Serge Aurier opened the scoring five minutes before the halftime break and in the second 45 minutes he helped himself to a brace, and was joined on the scoresheet by Fernando Llorente who bagged a hattrick, and we also saw solo efforts by Son Heung-Min and Harry Kane who appeared as a late substitute.
With plenty of positives from the night, a fair few fans questioned the introduction of England striker Kane, with plenty believing he should’ve been given the full 90 minutes off owing to the comfortable nature of the game.
Speaking to the BBC following the fulltime whistle, manager Mauricio Pochettino explained that decision with four points:
A – It’s Harry and he wants to play.
B – It’s Harry and he wants to play.
C – Respect the competition and the opposition.
D – It’s Harry and he wants to play.
“I am very pleased but very cold. It is so cold. We were very solid, they worked very hard in the first half and of course, we were a little bit lucky to open the scoring. In the second half we found space and were very clinical in front of goal. It was 7-0 but it was very tough to open the scoring. It was the plan to give Harry Kane 15-20 minutes to play, he always wants to play. It is important too for the fans here and the opponents to enjoy Harry Kane, he’s an icon in England and not everyone can have the opportunity to see him. It was important to show some respect to the people who are here, it was very nice for everyone.”
The game was apparently our biggest away win in our history.
🗣️ "It's fantastic. A great experience for them."#COYS pic.twitter.com/AUoW8mLAAv
— Tottenham Hotspur (@SpursOfficial) January 5, 2019