Harry Kane scored twice as Tottenham Hotspur secured a well deserved 4-1 win over West Ham United at White Hart Lane this evening.
Kane continued to put those one-season wonder claims behind him by inspiring the Lilywhites to a surprisingly simple victory against a team who have regularly shocked England's elite this season.
The 22-year-old and Toby Alderweireld ensured the hosts boasted a 2-0 half-time lead, before the in-form marksman struck a third to effectively finish the contest by the 50-minute mark.
Right-back Kyle Walker got in on the act, but the Irons left North London with something to cheer about after Manuel Lanzini reduced the arrears with a stunning consolation late on.
Here, Sports Mole reviews how the points were won in a simple London derby for Tottenham.
Match statistics
SPURS
Shots: 22
On target: 10
Possession: 56%
Corners: 7
Fouls: 13
WEST HAM
Shots: 10
On target: 4
Possession: 44%
Corners: 6
Fouls: 9
Was the result fair?
Without a doubt, but the scoreline was not fair - Spurs should have won by a far greater margin. It was men against boys for large spells of the contest at White Hart Lane as Tottenham ruthlessly exposed a lack of organisation in the visitors' defence in both halves. If not for visiting goalkeeper Adrian, and his crossbar, the hosts would be celebrating a much more emphatic victory.
Spurs' performance
On the back of this, it is growing increasingly difficult to see why Tottenham Hotspur should not aim higher than a top-four finish. Mauricio Pochettino's side were brilliant here again as Spurs earned a club-record unbeaten streak of 12 in the Premier League. With just two points separating them from Manchester City and Arsenal in third and fourth place, it seems only a matter of time before Pochettino's young guns are recognised as title challengers. On the back of this, why not?
It took 23 minutes for them to make the breakthrough here as Kane spun his marker brilliantly before slamming the ball past Adrian. Ten minutes later, it was two when Alderweireld's clever run saw him nod home a wonderful Christian Eriksen corner. Alderweireld was equally as influential at the other end as he and Jan Vertonghen negated the contrasting threats of Andy Carroll and Diafra Sakho.
With West Ham all at sea defensively, Kane then galloped through on goal, only for a horrible finish to undermine the Lilywhites' bid for a third. Moments earlier, the brilliant Dele Alli had headed against the bar after Son Heung-min - making his first start in almost two months - had been denied by Adrian. It was one-way traffic which could and should have yielded more than two goals in the first half.
The third came gift-wrapped from James Tomkins with just five minutes gone in the second period, as Kane capitalised on a horrendous pass from defence before rifling the ball home from the edge of the area - a finish which further dismisses those one-season wonder jibes. Walker completed the rout for Spurs, before allowing Lanzini too much space in the lead up to the Irons' consolation.
West Ham's performance
Slaven Bilic will no doubt be quizzed over whether the absence of star playmaker Dimitri Payet played a role in this defeat. Given that he had been involved in 35% of West Ham United's goals this season, Bilic referred to him as his "best player" prior to kickoff. He is right - Payet has been a roaring success since arriving from Marseille in the summer; a key factor in the Hammers' shock wins away to Arsenal, Liverpool and Manchester City. But this demolition was about the defence - or lack of it at times. Even with Payet, United would have been thumped.
For the opener, Carl Jenkinson was far too easily spun by Kane, before Winston Reid then lost the run of Alderweireld for the second from a corner. From there, Bilic's side collapsed. Suddenly there were gaping holes in a defence which looked vulnerable to each and every wave of Tottenham attack, but the half-time whistle saved them - for 15 minutes at least.
At 2-0 down, the Irons still had the slimmest of chances to get back into it. Tomkins must have missed that part of the half-time team talk after playing the ball straight to Kane under no pressure whatsoever, before the Spurs marksman punished him in style. It was a mistake which summed them up on the day: careless and apathetic.
At the other end, Carroll and Sakho had done virtually nothing to trouble Hugo Lloris, with Walker then adding a fourth goal. Again, the defending resembled a child playing FIFA. The visiting fans were given something to cheer on 87 minutes when the anonymous Lanzini grabbed a brilliant consolation, but even then they were ironic cheers - and many might have been Tottenham fans.
Sports Mole's man of the match
Harry Kane: Simply put, Kane put paid to the decreasing suggestions that his 31-goal haul of last term was the result of a one-season wonder. He is anything but and, despite not always being involved this evening, he was absolutely lethal given half the chance. The 22-year-old did miss a gilt-edged one-on-one after opening the scoring, and by some margin, but he atoned.
Biggest gaffe
At 2-0 down and with the best part of 40 minutes to play, Tomkins effectively ensured that the second half was a write-off for the visitors after inexplicably passing straight to Kane, who took one touch and fired past Adrian from the edge of the area. Two-goal advantages are always a danger and if not for that error, it might have been a different game.
Referee performance
Referee Anthony Taylor had a few brief melees to break up in the second half, which resulted in a number of yellow cards, but nothing serious in what proved a quiet enough evening for Taylor.
What's next?
Spurs: Pochettino's troops return to action on Thursday for a Europa League trip to Qarabag FK, before then facing Chelsea on Sunday.
West Ham: The Irons now turn their attentions toward next Sunday when they host West Bromwich Albion at Upton Park.
Shane Callaghan
