Serene progress one of many positives for Conte and Spurs…

It wouldn’t be Spurs without the odd scare but Antonio Conte’s side secured unnervingly-serene passage in the FA Cup on a Saturday night with a victory over Brighton that offered plenty more positives beyond a place in the fifth round.

Harry Kane scored twice having been reunited with Heung-min Son; their marquee summer signing joined Son in returning from injury; Conte was able to blood his two new January arrivals; and the void left by one of the targets he missed was filled encouragingly by a player in receipt of a much-needed stroke of good fortune.

Everything came up Conte for Tottenham against Brighton who represented a potential banana skin for a Spurs team who are looking more and more a side built in their manager’s image.

What hazards laid in wait in north London caught out the Seagulls, who were deservedly dumped out of the cup but each goal they conceded was entirely preventable. And at the other end, when the chances came, most notably in the second period to reduce Spurs’ advantage to a single goal, Brighton and Neal Maupay in particular showed themselves to be as impotent as ever.

Kane has no such worries about firing blanks at the moment. Each of his goals came as a result of some kamikaze defending but the first showcased the quality of finishing that was missing before Conte pitched up, and the second highlighted the poacher’s instinct so woefully absent in the opening months of the season.

Kane has now netted seven goals in his last 10 games, a run all the more likely to be extended by Son’s return. The South Korean star made his first appearance in a month and had a hand in each of Kane’s goals. First, it was his pressure that forced Adam Webster into a turnover that led to Kane curling an unstoppable