Kane Ends August Curse as Spurs Smack Fulham

Wembley Stadium was the site for many a joyful roar from the denizens of Craven Cottage last spring.

Their club had just wrapped up a successful promotion campaign by edging Aston Villa, 1-0, even though they endured the final 20 minutes with only 10 men.

This time, they actually had a home team to face.

Tottenham's still using the national ground as a temporary home a while longer. Seems like their new £1billion playpen still has a few loose ends to address.

 

Frankly, if it weren't for Harry Kane getting sorted earlier in the season than he usually does, the Cottagers might've come away with a point. They were dangerous enough to force a draw.

As it was, the Spurs' striking machine put the match outta reach and, in the process, put paid to an odd dry spell that, until now, had seen him kept off the scoresheet in 14 previous August Premiership matches.

This allowed Tottenham manager Mauricio Pochettino to get obvious and Kane to respond in kind:

 

 

Ironically, it looked like the August curse would hold when Kane's first goal was disallowed.

Meanwhile, Fulham sent a stern message to the hosts that they had their own firepower. Dudes forced Hugo Lloris to make some nifty saves on Tom Cairney and Ryan Sessegnon.

Here's his grass-stainer against Cairney:

In the 43rd minute, Spurs finally hit paydirt.

Lucas Moura curled hit shot into the twine after a defensive failure from Calum Chambers.

It was his dude's first Premiership goal:

 
Despite going to the break down a goal, Fulham came back via Aleksandar Mitrović.

First, the Serbian stalwart hit the post three minutes after the break.

Then, in the 52nd minute, he redeemed himself by driving an acrobatic header while on the ground to level things up:

At the 74th, following so much pressure, Spurs took the lead again through a decent free-kick from Kieran Trippier, right into the bottom corner. 

Three minutes later, Kane finally dispatched his August curse away with a decent finish after a strong counter-attack led by Erick Lamela.

Updating his first-month Premiership stats: dude's now got one goal in 49 August attempts over 15 games.

 

Tottenham's the first club in Premiership history to stand pat during a summer signing season. What with last season's strong finidh and this season's quick start, it may turn out to be a winning strategy.

Frankly, Fulham showed well in this one, too. Their positive style of play and consistent attacks could find them around mid-table when all is done and dusted next spring.

They've just gotta stay relatively injury-free to do it, as their depth will be a key factor in maintaining the level of play that got them promoted.