Published: 21 March, 2015
by DAN CARRIER at White Hart Lane

Premier League
SPURS 4, LEICESTER CITY 3

HARRY Kane celebrated his call-up to the senior England squad with a hat-trick in a thrilling 4-3 victory over Leicester this afternoon.

Spurs' head coach Mauricio Pochettino praised his striker, who has hit 29 goals so far this term. He said: “This was a fantastic performance. I am so happy for him. It was at times a difficult game but Harry showed what an important player he is for us.”

Pochettino was critical of his team's inability to kill the game. Leicester clawed their way back into it after trailing 2-0, and Pochettino called on his players to show more composure.

He said: “This is part of the process, as we are a young team. But it is clear we need to collectively improve our defensive game.”

It was an afternoon of high drama, with moments of high skill mixed with high farce. 

On two, Hugo Lloris collided with Kyle Walker and the goalkeeper was stretchered off with a knee injury. It set the tone. On five, Eric Dier helped on a corner and it fell kindly for Kane to turn home. On 13, Kane doubled Tottenham's lead when he pulled away from his marker and smashed an effort in off Foxes centre-back Matthew Upson.

It looked like it may become a rout: Kane had an effort disallowed, and Eriksen saw a carefully placed shot strike the post. 

On 37, Foxes forward Jamie Vardy tucked home a reply after Spurs were caught napping on the left and they evened things up on 49 when captain Wes Morgan headed a second. Spurs regained the lead on 63 in fortuitous circumstances. Danny Rose tried to get on to a Ryan Mason pass and was clipped in the box. Kane made no mistake in sealing his first senior hat-trick from the spot. 

Spurs continued to look suspect when Leicester threw long balls forward but then, on 84, Paulinho played in Eriksen, the Dane got in a tangle with Morgan and the ball bounced home. 

With one minute left, David Nugent got clear and scored from the edge of the box to set up a nervy ending, but Spurs managed to keep their visitors at bay and gain three valuable points. For the neutral, this was entertaining stuff. For those in the Spurs dugout, it was a worrying example of the immaturity of this young side.

SPURS: Lloris (Vorm, 2), Walker, Rose, Vertonghen, Dier, Townsend (Paulinho, 56), Kane, Chadli, Eriksen, Mason (Dembele, 88), Bentaleb.
Subs: Vorm, Chiriches, Paulinho, Adebayor, Lamela, Dembele, Davies.  

SPURS COMMENT by Dan Carrier

Five points from today:

Harry Kane has now hit 29 goals this season. But what is more impressive is how he has led the line as the season has progressed. His goals were well taken – but there is more to his game.

Kyle Walker has not looked quite right in recent weeks. You could say it is because he was out for eight months and so missed a pre-season – but it also is due to a lack of support from Andros Townsend in front of him. 

Aaron Lennon chased back in a way Andros never does. 

The late cameo by Paulinho, who is surely going to have his future assessed in the summer, had some touches that reminded us of his qualities. A couple of big, powerful runs were signs he's shaken off that tubby belly he had since the World Cup.

Poor Hugo Lloris. The talismanic captain got crocked by his own team-mate – but Walker shouldn't have had to rush back as the linesman had flagged for offside and it took the ref a year and a day to notice and pull back play.