The wait for a Harry Kane goal was already looking like a long one for the Lilywhites seeing as the England man has been out with a hamstring injury since New Year’s Day (BBC), however, not the wait for any sort of goal is looking like a long one owing to the postponement of the Premier League (Sky Sports).
However, in this world without any football for the foreseeable future, we’re taking a look at what we believe are the best goals that have come from the Lilywhites’ #10, and there are plenty to choose from seeing as he’s already bagged 181 goals for the north London club (Transfermarkt).
Would you swap Harry Kane for Paulo Dybala?
Yes
No
Despite those 181 goals, we’re taking on the almost impossible task of not only narrowing it down to just five strikes but doing so without angering anyone, although any disagreements or obvious goals we’ve missed will no doubt be added in the comments section below.
It must be said that these aren’t the best five goals that Kane has bagged for the Lilywhites, as we’ll also be taking into account the meaning of the goals, the opponent that they were scored against and obviously the aesthetic of the goals themselves, so, without further ado here’s where we’re starting.
#5 Nov ’14, Aston Villa (A)
The first on this list that is worthy of a special mention is one of the earliest goals in the career of Harry Kane. Injury time beckoned at Villa Park, and after Nacer Chadli had pulled the Lilywhites level, equalising in the 84th minute following an early Andreas Weimann goal, Kane stepped up from a free-kick.
The strike itself was not one that is at all memorable. After bagging six goals in the Europa League up to this point, Kane’s goal against the Villans was his first of the season in the Premier League (Transfermarkt), and it really foreshadowed what was to come, with Kane dragging Spurs to results as he bagged 31 in total that season.
#4 Nov ’18, PSV (H)
It hasn’t taken long, but we’ve cheated here. Admittedly, this is a brace from Kane, but hear us out because you’ll agree with us before long. Last season’s run to the Champions League final will never be forgotten by the fans who lived it, although it would never have happened without Kane in November 2018.
The England captain was wearing the armband for club in this one in Hugo Lloris’ absence, and despite their Dutch opponents going 1-0 up inside two minutes, a late brace from Kane won this game (BBC) and gave the Lilywhites their first win of the season in the Champions League on their way to qualifying miraculously, and whilst the two Kane strikes were as scrappy as ever, the value of these strikes cannot be understated.
#3 July ’19, Juventus (N)
At the start of this article we mentioned that the relevance iof the goal and the opponent would be taken into account, and whilst it feels like we’re cheating to include a goal from a pre-season game, Kane’s strike against Juventus in pre-season before the 2019/20 season was an absolutely magical strike.
With the scoreline at 2-2 against the Italian champions, Kane had the audacity in the 93rd minute to look up when receiving the ball on the halfway line to lob ex-Arsenal goalkeeper Wojciech Szczesny to win the game 3-2, seeing the Lilywhites come out on top against Cristiano Ronaldo and co in a game that Simon Stone claimed could be ‘the best of the season’ despite it coming in July (BBC).
#2 Jan ’15, Chelsea (H)
This is yet another goal that was scored on Harry Kane’s way to developing the reputation he has now, and this is one of the most memorable strikes from the 2014/15 season. New Year’s day 2015 saw Tottenham welcome Chelsea to White Hart Lane, and despite going 1-0 down to a Diego Costa strike, Kane’s fantastic leveller put the Lilywhites on their way to an incredible 5-3 win.
Having collected the ball in a deeper position on the left, Kane had the awareness to skip past Cesc Fabregas whilst simultaneously holding off Oscar before unleashing a low drive past Thibaut Courtois to level the score, and since then Kane’s goalscoring exploits haven’t been questioned.
#1 March ’16, Arsenal (H)
If you didn’t see this one coming then we really want to hear which goal you thought might be at the top of this list. The 2015/16 season was in full swing when March came around and with the Lilywhites battling with Leicester City and Arsenal for the title, and as the Gunners travelled to north London for the derby, Kane had something special waiting.
Going into this game, Kane had 16 Premier League goals to his name and the fans would have been desperate for a result. In the end, the game finished 2-2, but a crazy seven-minute period saw the Arsenal’s Francis Coquelin sent off, Toby Alderweireld level the score at 1-1 before Dele Alli kept the ball alive near the corner, back-heeling for Kane who unleashed a wonderful strike past David Ospina.
The wonderfully struck curling strike from a tough angle not only had the Lilywhites believing they could win the title, but the scenes after the goal of Kane removing his protective face mask in celebration in front of an electric White Hart Lane are scenes that simply will not be forgotten by those who were there.