Tottenham Hotspur marched into the 5th round of the Emirates FA Cup after an impressive 3-1 win against Brighton & Hove Albion.
 

Two goals from Harry Kane and an own goal from Solly March saw Spurs please their home fans.

It was a lively game in both halves with both sides having chances available.
 

However, the North London side showed how clinical they can be, especially in the first half.


Spurs broke the deadlock in the 13th minute through Kane and they eventually doubled their lead through a March own goal in the 24th minute.


Tottenham suffered a scare when Yves Bissouma halved the deficit in the 63rd minute, however their 2 goal lead was restored as Kane scrambled the ball across the line in the 66th minute.

The result gives Tottenham a place in the 5th round draw tomorrow morning whilst Brighton will now focus on the Premier league as they look to improve on their current position of 9th. 

  • Story of the match 

The first 10 minutes was an evenly-matched affair.

However, just after a Robert Sanchez mistake gave the home side the sniff of goal, Spurs took the lead through Harry Kane in the 13th minute. 

Heung-Min Son capitalised on an Adam Webster mistake, allowing Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg to send in Kane. From there, the England captain curled the ball into the top right corner, sending the Spurs fans into delight.

After the 1st goal, the game slowed down with a Harry Winks effort coming closest.


However, in the 24th minute, Emerson Royal's cross was deflected in via Solly March to make it 2-0.

The Brazilian claimed the goal, however with later inspection, it was found to be an own goal from March. It seemed the right wing-back wanted to make a point as he angrily walked towards the bench during his celebrations.

Link up play between Son and Kane in the 29th and 32th minute resulted in nothing, however it continued a strong and intense start from Antonio Conte's side.

A poignant moment took place in the 39th minute as a minutes applause for Ashley Savage occurred.

The Spurs fan sadly lost her life last week, but the fans came in support to show their solidarity for the family.

The away side had four shots in the first half, however they rarely threatened Hugo Lloris with Neil Maupay coming closest in the 39th minute. 

As the 2nd half got under way, the first chance fell to Jakub Moder in the 48th minute.


The ball fell kindly to the Polish international, however he was unable to keep it on target as his shot crept over the bar. 

The pressure continued from Brighton as a shot from Yves Bissouma deflected off Cristian Romero in the 51st minute.

Hugo Lloris was forced to stretch across his goal to deny the Mali international. 

After a quite 10 minutes after the goal, Bissouma gave Brighton hope of a comeback with a goal in the 63rd minute.
 

The central midfielder drove forward with his shot deflecting off Danish international Hojbjerg. It left the France goalkeeper Lloris helpless to stop it as he watched on.

However, any hope of a comeback was quickly diminished as Kane made it 3-1 in the 66th minute. Son drove forward through the Seagull's defence with Webster's clearness inadvertently falling to the path of the England captain who scrambled it across the line. 

In the 69th minute, Dejan Kulusevski made his Spurs debut, replacing Lucas Moura in the process. Whilst in the 77th minute, Rodrigo Bentancur followed in the path of the Swedish international as he also made his Lilywhite debut.

Little happened in the final 10 minutes with Steven Bergwijn coming closest to adding another goal. New signing Kulusevski gave the Dutchman a glorious chance, however the winger blazed it into the South Stand. This saw the game end 3-1, giving Antonio Conte's side a place in the 5th round draw.

  • The Return of Familiar Faces

The game against Brighton saw a return for Romero and Son. The Argentine defender hadn't played since Conte's first Premier League game against Everton due to a hamstring injury. Meanwhile, the South Korean international had his own hamstring injury that kept him out for the past month. 

Ever since the 1st minute, it was as if the 23-year-old central defender had never left. He was cool, calm and collected which gave Spurs greater assurances at the back.

He had one blunder in the 67th minute as his slip gifted Maupay a chance, however he was unable to take advantage. His night ended in the 77th minute after being replaced by Joe Rodon.
 

This succeeded some minor cramp for the central defender, however the substitute only seemed precautionary.

Meanwhile, Heung-Min Son returned after a month long break and looked as lively as ever.

He was involved in the final goal, driving through the Albion defence eventually leading to Kane scrambling across the line.
 

It wasn't a world class performance from the winger, however it will please the fans to see such an incredible player back on the field.

There aren't many more superlatives left to describe this man. After another superb performance, fans will be forgetting his slow start earlier in the season.

Kane showed all the qualities needed for a modern day striker. All the play came through the Englishman with his first half curler setting the tempo for the game.
 

His second increased the buffer for the North London side and rounded off a superb performance from Spurs' solo striker.