Tottenham 3-0 AFC Wimbledon: Second half scoring flurry sees Spurs advance

Tottenham Hotspur kicked off their FA Cup campaign today against League One side AFC Wimbledon. The match was not deemed worthy of television coverage, leaving supporters to listen to the match on the radio. What they were treated to was a complete performance by the home side, resulting in a 3-0 victory to advance to the next round.

The first half of action was controlled almost exclusively by Spurs, with the opening ten minutes only getting a couple of touches by Wimbledon players. There were no real chances until the fifteenth minute when Kane managed to behind the back four of Wimbledon but ultimately couldn’t get a clean shot off.

An Erik Lamela attempt in the 25th minute was the best opportunity to get a goal as a one-two combination in the middle freed up the Argentine with a yard of space, curling a left footed shot high that beat everyone except the crossbar. The ball banged off the woodwork, keeping the score 0-0.

Wimbledon had one decent chance in the dying minutes of the first half that forced Michel Vorm into action, and he made the necessary save, keeping the match goalless going into half time. Spurs had 83% of the possession and you felt it was just a matter of time before that goal came to unlock the match.

The second half was a completely flip from the first half. Wimbledon came out firing, getting more possession in the first ten minutes than they seemed to get the entire first half. Some half chances turned into nothing, neither side seemingly able to break the deadlock. The question was simple: Could anyone break it open?

The answer to that question came in the 63rd minute as Moussa Sissoko whipped a ball into the penalty area and Harry Kane scuffed one home to make it 1-0.

Just a few minutes later, with the game busted open, Spurs got free on the break and, you guessed it, Kane found himself in the box again with the ball and coolly slotted it into the net, making it 2-0 and all but ending this FA cup tie.

Moving into the final twenty minutes, Wimbledon made changes to move to an attacking front, ditching their defensive formation being down two goals. The third goal for Spurs came not long after the subs as Spurs pushed hard to remove any doubt from the tie. Jan Vertonghen, finally breaking through after not scoring for three seasons, struck one like a striker into the corner to make it 3-0. Kane would not get his hat trick, unfortunately, as he was subbed off not long after the third goal for a much deserved ovation from the Spurs faithful at Wembley Stadium.

Thoughts on the match

• It’s 2018. I get the whole “don’t want to kill attendance” argument, but no TV coverage is dumb dumb dumb.
• I spent most of the match bouncing between a couple of Periscope feeds and listening to the feed on BBC. This is about as good as you’re getting for a report :)
• #GetJanAGoal movement has succeeded, and it was a good one!

• Ho-hum, another match, another brace for Kane. That’s 26 for him this season for club, and it’s only January 7.
• Overall it sounded like a comprehensive win. Spurs had so much possession and while Wimbledon had some life in the first ten minutes of the second half, it sounded like Vorm never got threatened.
• Fourth Round draw is tomorrow. Flip on Fox Sports 1 because Nottingham Forest are up 2-1 on Arsenal as of publishing.