Stay up to date with notifications from The Independent

Notifications can be managed in browser preferences.

Harry Kane reveals what Joe Hart said to him before his penalty during Tottenham's win over Manchester City

Kane told a Spurs Junior Fans' Forum what his England team-mate Hart said to him seconds before his penalty opened the scoring in Sunday's 2-1 victory over Manchester City

Jack de Menezes
Tuesday 16 February 2016 15:54 GMT
Comments
What Joe Hart said to Harry Kane before that penalty

Tottenham striker Harry Kane has revealed what his England team-mate, Joe Hart, said to him in the lead up to his penalty which opened the scoring in the 2-1 victory over Manchester City on Sunday.

Hart was seen by TV cameras muttering away to Kane as the 22-year-old placed the ball on the spot and waited for referee Mark Clattenburg to give him the signal to take the penalty, but much was made of what Hart could’ve been saying to his international colleague in a bid to put him off.

Long story short, it didn’t work. Hart dived to his right, Kane powered the ball straight down the middle and promptly ran to the away supporters who surged to the front of the Etihad Stadium stand to try and celebrate with the in-form striker.

But in the aftermath of the win that sent Spurs back to second in the Premier League table and pull them to within two points of leaders Leicester City, Kane has revealed what was said between himself and Hart seconds before the opening goal.

“We practice quite a lot when we are away with England and he said ‘I know you like to go to the keeper’s right and down the middle,’” Kane said at a Tottenham Junior Fans’ Forum on Tuesday.

Harry Kane celebrates scoring a penalty against Manchester City

“Then he said ‘I think you’re going to go down the middle’ and I said ‘Ok’ and then put it down the middle,” he added with a smile, knowing that Hart had predicted the outcome of the penalty yet managed to dive the wrong way.

While the victory keeps Spurs well in the title picture – level on points with north London rivals Arsenal with a much healthier goal difference – City now sit six points off top spot and puts them at risk of falling into the clutches of the chasing pack with Manchester United, Southampton and West Ham all harbouring ambitious top-four finishes.

Join our commenting forum

Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies

Comments

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged inPlease refresh your browser to be logged in