Eriksen and Kane the Difference as Tottenham Book Capital One Cup Final Place
For a brief while in Wednesday's Capital One Cup semi-final second leg, it looked like it might be Che Adams' night. The Sheffield United attacker handed his team what seemed a momentum-shifting lifeline with two composed goals in two minutes in the second half.
Unfortunately for the 18-year-old substitute, Tottenham Hotspur's Christian Eriksen and Harry Kane were not keen to see their chance at silverware stolen by this interloper. Kane got on the ball out left and picked out Eriksen's run, setting up the Dane to score his second of the night. It was not as spectacular as his first, but it was equally cool and ultimately the deciding strike.
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On a snowy Yorkshire night at Bramall Lane, it was Kane and Eriksen who were again the difference for Tottenham in their 3-2 aggregate win (2-2 on the evening), which booked a Wembley meeting with Chelsea.
Leading the Spurs attack, Kane was a player untethered compared to his play in the deeper role he's occupied in recent appearances. He positively reveled in the chance to run at Sheffield United in more immediately dangerous positions.
The left-hand channel in particular—entered either in off the flank or charged directly—yielded several opportunities in both halves.
The angle was often tighter than most front-men would have liked, but between his thundering gallop and arms schooled in legal methods of advancement and self-protection, he found a way through (it would not be a surprise to find out Kane, an NFL fan, has learned a thing or two from that sport's methods of one-on-one separation).
The striker hit the post and tested goalkeeper Mark Howard several times. He never quite found his range, and it could be argued his wastefulness partly allowed the home side back into the game.
A fairer assessment would be Kane was unlucky in front of goal in his first match back up top. Indeed, it might have been far closer earlier in the game but for the outlet he repeatedly offered himself as, barely allowing the Blades' defence a moment's rest.
Kane came good when it mattered, though, showing timely vision to set up Eriksen's winner.
Eriksen was part of a midfield whose fluid movement and incisive dribbling bamboozled their League One opponents at times. Mousa Dembele and Erik Lamela weaved beguiling patterns with the ball at their feet while Ryan Mason and Benjamin Stambouli drove forward into the spaces they created.
One such run from the Frenchman led to Eriksen's wonderful free-kick opener, which floated across the goal and in off the far-post, underlining his proficiency from distance and leaving observers marveling.
"GOAL! Eriksen opens the scoring for Spurs with a fantastic free-kick!
— B/R Football (@br_football) January 28, 2015"
The Spurs midfield's struggle to adapt to Sheffield United's search for a way back in the second-half preceded the Blades turning the screw.
Left-back Ben Davies was too easily beaten by Ryan Flynn and Jamie Murphy out wide, while Kyle Walker might have been better served paying closer attention to Adams. But one would suspect Pochettino's displeasure with his team losing its shape had its roots further forward.
If Eriksen—not a player comfortable with defensive duties in the wide-starting position he occupied—was part of Spurs' "emotional" step backwards, he also possessed the serenity to push them ahead again after the game had turned.
The 88th-minute pass from Kane was enticingly weighted, but it required a finish from a man not feeling the pressure. The Denmark international duly obliged.
Kane and Eriksen are only three and four years older respectively than the United scorer Adams. They are not far removed from the youthful, aspirational position their opponent made his mark from.
But here they are. Two of the key figures behind Tottenham's improvement over the turn of the year are now in a position to secure a notable early career landmark.
If Spurs beat their London rivals, Premier League table-toppers Chelsea on March 1, there is a good chance Eriksen and Kane will have been the difference again.
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