RECORD-BREAKING Harry Kane used his head and Tottenham kept theirs to chisel out victory.
When Kane nodded the ball powerfully home in first-half stoppage time, he became the first player to score ten headed goals in a Premier League season.
Harry Kane was the main man for Tottenham once againCredit: Getty
He headed in the winner against Crystal Palace for Premier League goal No209Credit: Reuters
And on this occasion, the man who has carried Spurs so often was not let down by his team-mates.
The home side’s run of four games without a win ended as they kept a clean sheet in the league for the first time since February.
Kane also played his part at the other end, with an important clearance in the final ten minutes.
But this was a team performance in which caretaker boss Ryan Mason’s changes of tactics and personnel just about paid off.
Ryan Mason dropped Eric Dier and lined up Tottenham in a good, old-fashioned 4-4-2 when out of possession, with Pedro Porro and Son Heung-Min playing wide.
The home side started promisingly, with a decent level of intensity and good retention of the ball.
Neither team was finding it easy, however, to carve out chances and the most likely source of a goal looked like being set-pieces.
At one end, Marc Guehi was unable to put a decisive touch on the ball after a corner.
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At the other, Cristian Romero headed Porro’s near-post delivery against the bar.
As the game opened up a little more, Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg played a one-two with Kane but sent his finish high and well wide.
Michael Olise at least forced a save out of Tottenham goalkeeper Fraser Forster, but it was a routine stop.
As Palace came into the game more, an Olise cross found its way to centre-back Joachim Andersen, who looped the ball over the bar.
It was a decent enough watch for a nil-nil, but the game needed someone to produce something special to break the deadlock.
And just as a minute of stoppage-time at the end of the half was being announced, Kane provided it.
First the England captain swept the ball wide to Porro. Then he made his way to the back post and easily outjumped Joel Ward to head the ball firmly home for Premier League goal No209.
Palace had lacked the attacking flow of their 4-3 win over West Ham but improved after the break.
Captain Wilfried Zaha did well down the left and teed up Eberechi Eze, but the midfielder dragged his shot well wide.
Spurs could sense the momentum changing. Son found himself having to make a crucial header to stop Eze’s pass finding Olise, then Cheick Doucoure drew a save from Forster.
Tottenham regrouped and Porro continued to be their main danger man.
A well-hit shot deflected off Tyrick Mitchell, forcing a smart stop from Johnstone, and the Spaniard was enjoying the chance to charge down the right without having to worry too much about defensive duties.
Then from the other flank, Porro sent a free-kick fizzing wide of the far post.
Palace were struggling to find a way back into the game and their frustration showed when Jordan Ayew tugged back Richarlison deep in the Tottenham half.
Out of nothing, Son had a great opportunity to make it 2-0 with less than 15 minutes to go.
Tempers threatened to spill over in the London derbyCredit: Getty
There was a record 43-year age gap between the two managersCredit: Reuters
The South Korean ran on to Romero’s long pass but tried to take the ball around Johnstone, only for the Palace ‘keeper to keep scrambling back and save the shot.
Although replays suggested Son might have been offside, it was the kind of chance he was regularly burying until this curious season of his.
A set-piece looked like Palace’s only way back into it and so it almost proved, six minutes from the end.
Olise’s free kick went all the way through to Andersen at the back post, but when the Dane jabbed it back across goal, there was Kane to hoof it clear.
Spurs had equalised and conceded in stoppage time at Liverpool the previous week.
But they held out pretty comfortably for the five minutes added this time to record a win that was a boost to their hopes of European qualification, especially with rivals Aston Villa slipping to defeat at Wolves.
