LONDON // Mauricio Pochettino has never been afraid to give young players a chance at Tottenham Hotspur.
Since taking charge at White Hart Lane ahead of the 2014/15 campaign, the former Southampton manager has set about lowering the team’s average age and creating a side with the physical characteristics required to enact his high-tempo and high-intensity style of play. Tellingly, there are no outfielders over 30 in Pochettino’s squad, with 29-year-old Jan Vertonghen the oldest non-goalkeeper in the Tottenham ranks.
It was the absence from the XI of another 29-year-old, Mousa Dembele, that led to one such youngster being given a chance to impress during Sunday’s FA Cup fifth-round tie at Fulham.
Harry Winks had already made 26 appearances in all competitions this term, but this weekend’s London derby at Craven Cottage was only the 10th match he has started in his professional career.
Not that you would have known. The 21-year-old midfielder, a product of the Tottenham academy who made his debut against Partizan Belgrade in November 2014, delivered a mature and assured performance in the centre of the park, as the Premier League outfit advanced to the quarter-finals for the first time in five seasons.
The visitors started well at Craven Cottage, twice getting in behind the Fulham backline through Christian Eriksen and Dele Alli early on. Slavisa Jokanovic’s charges looked a little overawed as they found it difficult to get a foothold in the game, with Tottenham’s pressing in advanced areas forcing several turnovers of possession throughout the first half.
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FA Cup quarter-final line-up
■ Chelsea v Manchester United
■ Middlesbrough v Huddersfield / Manchester City
■ Arsenal / Sutton v Lincoln City
■ Tottenham Hotspur v Millwall
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The opening goal owed as much to Kieran Trippier’s quick thinking as it did Eriksen’s cross and Harry Kane’s finish, the full-back sparking the move with a hastily-taken throw-in on the right. It was no less than Pochettino’s men deserved after their dominant start, but their profligacy inside the penalty area prevented them from adding a second before the interval.
Eriksen was guilty of missing the best chance, the Dane blazing over the top from Kane’s pass, but Winks’ bursts into the box – as well as runs in behind from Alli and Son Heung-min – proved to be one of the biggest dangers to the home side.
The midfielder miscued a header from Trippier’s cross in the 22nd minute after beginning the attack himself, before being denied by the linesman’s flag when he turned home the rebound from the offside Kane’s initial shot.
The striker had more luck after the break, first applying the finishing touch to Trippier’s fine delivery from the right to double Tottenham’s lead, then completing his hat-trick with a cool finish from Alli’s first-time ball into his path.
Fulham had a couple of decent openings of their own, Kevin McDonald going closest with a fierce header from a corner, but they were generally second best and struggled to cope with their opponents’ snappy passing and fluid movement in the final third, with Kane’s clinical edge ensuring it was a comfortable afternoon for Tottenham.
This was a headline-grabbing display from the England international, who has now found the net 19 times in 25 outings this season. Eriksen, Alli and Tripper were excellent, too, but it was Winks who gave Tottenham control of the match and provided a platform for the front four to thrive with his neat distribution, dynamic forward runs and, when required, diligent defensive work.
The midfielder has already done enough to suggest that he has a bright future ahead of him at White Hart Lane, and it would not be a surprise to see him become a regular starter in the Premier League next term. Pochettino’s faith, it seems, has not been at all misplaced.
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From Richard Jolly:
■ United through: Chelsea next in last eight for Mourinho's men
■ The replay: City lack usual invention, held by Huddersfield
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