Tottenham have made it three wins from three at home under interim boss Ryan Mason after their comfortable 2-0 win against Wolves. The Spurs manager was just 19 the last time Spurs beat Wolves at home, with Harry Redknapp in the dugout, but they made light work of a Wolves side who have been lacking in bite this term.
That win means that Tottenham now have the second best home record in the Premier League, having accumulated 33 points. Only champions Man City have a stronger home record and that is despite them losing five games at the Tottenham Hotspur stadium under Jose Mourinho. For Ryan Mason, home is where the heart is.
Harry Kane scored the opener just minutes after Conor Coady had pulled off some defensive heroics. First he blocked an effort off the line from a corner, before getting up to block another shot off the line when Rui Patricio was out of position. With Gareth Southgate watching on, the losing captain was given man of the match by Sky Sports pundit Gary Neville, as he did his harm of playing at Euro 2020 no harm at all.
However, moments after those blocks, the England captain put his countryman on his backside when through on goal, before finishing past the stranded Patricio. That takes Kane one clear of Mo Salah in the race for the Golden Boot, although the Egyptian will want to fill his boots against an already relegated West Brom side later on. The through ball for Kane’s goal was provided by Pierre-Emile Hojberg who then got on the scoresheet himself in the second half. Gareth Bale’s shot was spilled by the Portuguese goalkeeper straight into the path of Hojberg, who made no mistake.
Midfielder Dele Alli also played well as he continued his post-Mourinho revival, causing problems for Wolves from that number ten position. "It was good. We dominated from the start, played well.
“It's important, we are not happy with where we are, we should be higher and we only have ourselves to blame. We are showing now what we can do but it is a bit too late. We just have to keep working hard and take it into the next season as well."
This win strengthened Spurs’ European credentials, taking them into sixth position, but it also shines a light on how poor they have been away from north London this term. They have only the 11th best away record, despite winning 6-1 at Old Trafford earlier in the season. They’ve now lost at Brighton, Man City, West Ham, Arsenal and Leeds since the turn of the year with no wins in their four games on the road. You can add a League Cup final defeat to that list as well.
Luckily for Mason and his side, they have just one away game remaining, but it could prove pivotal. They play Aston Villa at home before travelling to FA Cup winners Leicester on the final day of the season. Both teams are likely to need the points to qualify for their respective European competitions, and Spurs will be desperate to right their wrongs on the road.
It is unlikely that Mason will be offered the permanent role at this stage, despite their strong results at home, but whoever is in charge next term must make them more resilient on the road if they are to get back into the Champions League.
