Spurs 2 West Brom 0 - Report

Second-half goals from Harry Kane and Son Heung-min saw Spurs run out 2-0 winners on what was a comfortable afternoon for Jose Mourinho’s side.

The Baggies put in a committed display and defended well for long spells.

But with Spurs dominating possession throughout, it felt inevitable they would get the goals they needed to secure victory.

And so it proved when they netted a quick-fire double after the interval.

Albion did have some moments, with striker Mbaye Diagne seeing two goals ruled out for offside.

But there was no denying that, overall, Tottenham deserved the points.

The result means Albion have now conceded 28 goals in 10 games under Allardyce.

That is the joint-most a team has conceded after a manager's first 10 games.

Danny Wilson, who was in charge of Barnsley, Nigel Adkins, who was in charge of Southampton, and Slavisa Jokanovic, who was in charge of Fulham, share that unwanted record.

Report

Allardyce raised eyebrows when naming his starting XI with the boss making five changes from the team that slumped to defeat against Sheffield United.

Despite having scored five goals in six games, Matheus Pereira was dropped to the subs bench where he was joined by the likes of Dara O’Shea, Callum Robinson and skipper Jake Livermore.

Instead, Allardyce opted for a five-man midfield that saw Robert Snodgrass start on the right and Karlan Grant on the left.

Romaine Sawyers, Conor Gallagher and debutant Ainsley Maitland-Niles were the central trio with Mbaye Diagne a lone striker.

There was also a surprise in defence when Lee Peltier got the nod at right-back ahead of both Darnell Furlong and O’Shea.

Tottenham also sprung a selection shock - albeit a positive one for their supporters - with Harry Kane included in the starting line-up despite reports he was set to miss out through injury.

Mourinho opted to line up his side in a 4-2-3-1 formation with Erik Lamela behind Kane in the number 10 role.

Son Heung-min and Lucas were the widemen with Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg and Tanguy Ndombele the midfield two.

In what proved to be an intriguing opening 15 minutes, it was Spurs who dominated possession nevertheless both teams created half-chances to open the scoring.

For the Baggies, Conor Townsend whipped into two inviting crosses - one of which was headed over by Diagne.

At the other end, Son and Lamela both tried their luck from distance only for Sam Johnstone to make two simple saves.

Gradually, though, Spurs’ possession began to tell and they created two glorious chances to open the scoring - both of which fell to Kane.

First a sweeping ball from Serge Aurier found the England skipper who then took the ball into the box.

But from around 15-yards out, the striker hit a powerful drive which clipped the top of the bar before sailing over.

Then just moments later, a fortunate deflection saw a pass from Ndombele put Kane clean through on goal.

It was an opportunity that nine times out of 10 the prolific forward would score, but on this occasion, he fired wide.

From that point on the half was one-way traffic with Spurs enjoying almost total control of the ball.

But with a bank of five protecting a bank of four, Albion continued to defend well and keep them at bay with Tottenham struggling to break them down.

They did almost open the scoring when a corner was flicked towards Aurier at the back post.

But Johnstone did really well to parry the ball away one-handed.

As the half time whistle approached, Spurs had enjoyed 70 per cent possession.

But just seconds before the interval, Albion broke out of their defensive shape and created a glorious chance to open the scoring.

A dangerous Snodgrass cross was met by Diagne who powered a header towards goal.

But a diving Hugo Lloris did just enough to stop the ball right on the goal-line.

Less then 20 seconds after the re-start, Spurs had another good opportunity to break the deadlock.

A Kane pass split the Albion defence and sent Son into the box but his low drive was blocked by the boot of Johnstone.

In the 54th minute, though, the hosts did get themselves ahead.

A lovely weighted pass from Hojbjerg found Kane in the box. And this time the England striker made no mistake - calmly slotting the ball past Johnstone and into the far corner.

Just four minutes later, Tottenham had a second.

A lovely touch from Kane allowed Spurs to counter with Moura virtually carrying the ball the length of the pitch.

And Son made the run with him with the South Korean receiving the ball just inside the box before firing past Johnstone.

Albion almost pulled a goal back on the hour when Diagne headed in dangerous Snodgrass cross only to then be flagged offside.

From that point, the Baggies had to be more adventurous. That meant there was more space for Tottenham to exploit.

But with Spurs comfortable, the game was proving largely uneventful with neither side creating clear-cut chances.

With a little under 10 minutes to go, Allardyce introduced Pereira for Snodgrass.

And the Brazilian almost immediately produced a moment of magic.

First the 24-year-old cleverly turned away from both Son and Kane before floating in a wonderfully inviting cross.

But while Diagne turned it home, the Senegal international was again offside ensuring the moment was lost.

One positive for Albion was that Turkish international Okay Yokuslu came on in the closing stages for his debut.

And he looked bright with the defensive midfielder producing a couple of crunching challenges and also moving the ball well.

Teams

Tottenham: Lloris, Aurier (Doherty 68), Alderweireld, Sanchez, Davies, Hojbjerg, Ndombele, Lamela (bergwijn 73), Lucas, Son (Scarlett 93), Kane.

Subs not used: Hart, Rodon, Dier, Sissoko, Bergwijn, Bale, Vinicius.

Albion (4-5-1): Johnstone, Peltier, Ajayi, Bartley, Townsend, Snodgrass (Pereira 80), Maitland-Niles, Sawyers (Yokuslu 78), Gallagher, Grant (Phillips 69), Diagne.

Subs not used: Button, Furlong, O'Shea, Livermore, Robinson, Robson-Kanu.