Match Reports

FA Cup journey over after defeat at Spurs

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A resurgent second half performance wasn't enough for Albion.

By Charlie Hanson • 05 February 2022

By Paul Hazlewood
Yves Bissouma's second half strike deservedly got Albion back in the game.
  • Tottenham 3, Albion 1

Albion were left to rue a disappointing first-half performance as they were knocked out of the Emirates FA Cup at Tottenham on Saturday.

Goals from Harry Kane and Emerson Royal saw the hosts take a deserved lead going in at the break.

Yves Bissouma's second-half strike got Albion back in the tie, but Kane's response from close range a few moments later proved to be the moment that pushed the game out of reach for Albion.

Lewis Dunk returned to the starting XI after a two-month absence with a knee injury that he picked up at West Ham in December.

While the captain's inclusion didn't necessarily come as a surprise, his place at the heart of back three with Adam Webster to his right and Marc Cucurella to his left caught a few pundits out.

It would prove to be a frustrating return for Dunk though, as Albion conceded after 13 minutes.

Webster slipped and gave the ball away just outside his own box with Heung-Min Son finding Harry Kane quickly; the England captain took a touch and let fly from the edge of the box, finding the top right corner with an unerring finish.

By Paul Hazlewood
Harry Kane's emphatic finish put Tottenham in front.

The climb Albion faced to get back into the tie arched upwards 11 minutes later when Emmerson Royal's cross from the right looped up off the boot of Solly March, over the head of Robert Sanchez and into the back of the net for the hosts' second.

Neal Maupay hammered over from ten yards towards the end of the half before Moder curled an effort narrowly off target from the edge after the Frenchman had teed him up.

It was momentum Albion carried into the second half as Graham Potter tweaked his backline with the introduction of Joel Veltman.

Moder rifled an effort marginally over Hugo Lloris's crossbar before Yves Bissouma's low drive took a deflection off Cristian Romero on the way through and it was only a strong hand from the France international that kept it out.

Albion's push for a way back into the game finally bore fruit just after the hour when Bissouma picked the ball up on the left, cut in and his well-struck effort took a deflection off Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg, wrong-footing Lloris and halving the deficit. It was the Mali midfielder's first goal of the season. 

By Paul Hazlewood
The midfielder scored his first goal of the season against Spurs.

The visitors' joy was short-lived though as Kane found his second of the game when he poked home after Webster inadvertently teed him up as he tried to clear. Back came Albion with Maupay firing straight at Lloris when he should have scored from the re-start. 

Substitute appearances for Moises Caicedo and Evan Ferguson gave the 5,700 visiting supporters a look at the next crop of youngsters coming through, but it wasn't enough to overshadow a poor first half that would in the end cost Albion.

Albion: Sanchez, Lamptey (Welbeck 70), Dunk (C), Webster, Cucurella, Bissouma, Lallana (Veltman 46), Gross, Moder (Ferguson 79), March (Caicedo 61), Maupay.

Unused subs: Steele, McGill, Alzate, Duffy, Offiah.

Attendance: 54,697