Kane: The ground gave way underneath me!

Tottenham striker Harry Kane has explained the circumstances surrounding the penalty attempt that flew over the crossbar during Tottenham’s 4-1 Premier League victory at Southampton.

Kane had given Spurs the lead after Dele Alli cancelled out Virgil van Dijk’s opener but was well off the mark after Nathan Redmond was sent off for a challenge on Alli in the box.

Further goals from Son Heung-min and Alli ensured the miss mattered little, but Kane was quick to place the blame on the St Mary’s turf after the match.

“The ground just gave way under me,” he complained to Sky Sports. “I saw it before the game. There was a new patch of grass just on the penalty spot.

“It’s even more devastating that the keeper went the wrong way as well. I’ll be thinking about that one tonight.”

If there’s any @NFL teams looking for a kicker in the future, have a look at my game tonight! #SOUTOT

— Harry Kane (@HKane) December 28, 2016

Southampton defender Van Dijk admitted earlier this season that he “would do anything” to prevent a penalty from being scored after being booked for kicking up the turf around the spot during a match at Arsenal, although there is currently no suggestion the Dutchman resorted to those antics this time around.

Kane’s goal was his first in four games and the striker was happy to end his brief barren run.

“Whenever I go one or two games without scoring it seems to be a big deal,” he added. “It shows where I’m at and the position I’m in.

“But I just try to help my team and score goals for the team and I was thankful to do that today.”

Two-goal hero Alli, who was making his 50th top-flight appearance, commented: “It’s never nice to concede a goal that early in the game and it was important that we didn’t lose our heads, didn’t panic and stuck to our game plan.

“I think the boys did that and we knew that if we carried out the game plan there would be chances in the game.

“I put the first one away and after that it was a good game.

“We knew it wasn’t going to be an easy game – they’re a fantastic team.”