Heung-Min Son scored a brace to help Tottenham produce one of the comprehensive football scores of the weekend in the FA Cup. The forward, who had scored just once in his previous 17 matches for club and country, maintained Spurs’ chances of eventually ending their now 15-year trophy drought with a stunning long-range goal five minutes into the second half and then another (69) from within the box. Arnaut Danjuma (87), making his first appearance since joining on loan from Villarreal, scored the game’s final goal late on to seal the victory.
At a soggy, atmospheric Deepdale, Freddie Woodman twice denied Son, while Dejan Kulusevski was denied by a Ryan Ledson block as Antonio Conte’s team struggled to compete with their well-organized hosts. The Korean, however, changed the tie just after the interval, and his second all but ended it. Additionally, it allowed Conte to rest an ill Kane and allowed Spurs to focus on next Sunday’s crucial Premier League match against Manchester City because their name is now in the drawing’s pot on Monday. The week beginning February 27 will see the FA Cup’s fifth round.
Spurs had 73 percent of the ball in the first half, but for the second time this season, their supporters found the first half to be irritating. They only occasionally applied pressure, and when Son did find Woodman alert when he did strike the target after Ledson’s last-ditch block had denied Kulusevski an early opener. After a well-worked free-kick, Preston’s first shot of the game came 21 minutes in, but although not being overly threatened defensively, errant crosses from the Spurs wing-backs Matt Doherty and Ryan Sessegnon at the conclusion of the half seemed to sum up the visitors’ lack of focus.
It appeared that a change was necessary, but instead of Kane’s arrival, Spurs fans were given Son’s resurgence, with his goal-of-the-round contender acting as a reminder of his class. Strangely, the goal seemed to energize Preston instead; as the home team raced forward, Whiteman missed a shot. This left openings at the back, and when Woodman had to tip over a Perisic header, the Croatian passed the ball through for Son to spin and shoot in the box for his second.
Preston had no chance of recovering at that point, and Conte had the luxury of making a flurry of substitutions, with former Bournemouth player Danjuma making his Spurs debut. He was twice frustrated by intercepted passes when he appeared to be about to be played in, but he was eventually able to sweep home Kulusevski’s low cross to make it an ideal first day back in England and increase Conte’s offensive options.
“I needed those objectives to feel confident. It was quite significant. It was the sort of shooting position I enjoy. I had a few opportunities to shoot in the first half, but the goalkeeper saved them well,” Heung-Min Son said. “The most crucial thing, whether you’re an attacking or striking player, is that you score that goal. It’s crucial that I could assist the squad in advance to the following round. I’m ecstatic, ecstatic.”
“Although we would have preferred to be closer to [Son] with the first two goals, they were both excellent results. The third one is a little frustrating, and in the lead-up to the third, we should have committed a foul, but losing to a squad like that is not an embarrassment,” Preston head coach Ryan Lowe said. “We intended to lag a little bit further behind them. They were supposed to go around us, not through us. If the score is 0-0 after 70 minutes, they might alter their strategy. With the ball, we may have performed a little bit better, but without it, we were excellent.”
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