Kane hits treble as Tottenham stroll past Fulham

LONDON: Harry Kane’s hat-trick turned Tottenham Hotspur’s potentially tricky FA Cup fifth-round tie at Championship side Fulham into a Sunday stroll by the River Thames as they won 3-0 at Craven Cottage.

England striker Kane struck early on and twice after the interval to take his tally for the season to 19 as the eight-time FA Cup winners eased into the quarter-finals.

Stung by consecutive defeats and wary of becoming another weekend Cup shock after upsets involving Leicester City and Burnley, Tottenham produced a dominant performance.

Fielding a strong team with defender Jan Vertonghen back from injury they quickly hit their stride and Kane opened the scoring in the 16th minute when he stretched to volley in Christian Eriksen’s teasing low cross.

He doubled Tottenham’s lead in the 51st minute, again from an Eriksen assist, and finished off Fulham in the 73rd minute when he ran unopposed on to Dele Alli’s pass and tucked a right-foot shot past Fulham goalkeeper Marcus Bettinelli.

Fulham, still with an outside chance of making the Championship playoffs, had their moments and former Tottenham midfielder Scott Parker nearly grabbed a consolation when his header was saved by Spurs keeper Michel Vorm.

On Saturday, third-tier Millwall struck a late winner as Premier League champions Leicester City were
humbled on a historic day in the FA Cup.

Ten-man Millwall, seventh in League One, claimed a third top-flight scalp in this season’s tournament by dramatically sinking ailing Leicester 1-0 via a 90th-minute goal by Shaun Cummings.

“I’m lost for words. It’s mad. I can’t believe it!” Lincoln’s match-winner Raggett, 23, told BT Sport. “Crazy. A non-league side in the quarter-finals, in modern football. It’s unheard of.”

Leicester manager Claudio Ranieri, whose side sit one place above the Premier League relegation zone, said he was “very disappointed”.

“We are better than Millwall, but Millwall deserved to win,” said the Italian.

Second-half goals by Pedro and Diego Costa earned Premier League leaders Chelsea a 2-0 win at second-tier Wolverhampton Wanderers, conquerors of Liverpool in the previous round.

But Pep Guardiola’s Manchester City face an unwanted replay after drawing 0-0 at Championship high-fliers Huddersfield Town, three days out from their Champions League last-16 showdown with Monaco.

“It is not frustrating,” Guardiola said. “It was a tough game against one of the best teams in the Championship.”

Middlesbrough needed an 86th-minute Cristhian Stuani goal to secure a 3-2 win over third-tier Oxford United, who had hit back from 2-0 down to level through Chris Maguire and Antonio
Martinez.

Sutton United, also of the National League, will hope to pull off another famous upset when they host Arsenal on Monday (today).