Tottenham Match Report: Demolition at Hull City
By Ryan Wrenn
Tottenham secured their biggest win of the season in their final match of 2016/17, with Harry Kane securing his second consecutive Golden Boot along the way.
It was an irresistible performance from Tottenham, who conceded only one goal to Hull City in the midst of scoring seven for themselves.
With second secured for Spurs on the same day last week that Hull City got themselves relegated, there was nothing much to play for on the day. Still, Mauricio Pochettino made it a priority to end this season better than the last. He got his wish, and then some.
Over the last two games alone, Spurs have outscored Leicester City and Hull by 13-1. Those goals mean that they finished the season as both the best defense in the Premier League and the best offense with, naturally, the best goal difference.
Yet still they finish seven points behind champions Chelsea. A run of draws in the fall compounded with unfortunate losses to Chelsea, Manchester United, Liverpool and West Ham kept an otherwise immaculate Spurs side off the top of the table.
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Still, this was by some measure the best Tottenham season in over half a century. Arsenal’s 5th place finish also means that they finish above their local rivals for the first time in over 20 years.
The match against Hull reflected more the jubilation of those accomplishments rather than the what-might-have-beens.
Kane started things out in the 11th minute thanks to an assist from, who else, Christian Eriksen. Kieran Trippier helped Kane double up just two minutes later.
Less than 15 minutes into the match and Spurs — or, rather, Kane — had already won it. The side played with the appropriate level of swagger throughout the first half, a confidence that was only justified further from a well-taken Dele Alli goal one minute into stoppage time.
Things were hardly over yet however. Twenty minutes after the interval, Sam Clucas scored a goal for the home side. Much like the goal Leicester scored on Thursday, Clucas’ goal only served to galvanize this Spurs side even more.
A Christian Eriksen free-kick found Victor Wanyama in the box three minutes later, and the big Kenyan scored his second goal in a week for Spurs.
Three more minutes after that, and Kane sealed his hat-trick thanks to a fine combination with Dele. He was subbed off to a standing ovation from the traveling support seven minutes later.
The match wasn’t over yet however. Both full-backs wanted more of the action. Ben Davies latching onto a Wanyama pass to score his first Premier League goal of the season on the final day. Then, with three minutes of time remaining, Trippier set up Toby Alderweireld to add his own first league goal of 2016/17.
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It was a spectacular end to a spectacular season, and Tottenham will have all the confidence they need to hit the ground running when they make the change to Wembley next season.