Kane spot on as Spurs edge past Boro

TOTTENHAM HOTSPUR 1 MIDDLESBROUGH 0

Harry Kane struck from the penalty spot to give Tottenham Hotspur a 1-0 victory over struggling Middlesbrough at White Hart Lane on Saturday and reduce the gap on Premier League leaders Chelsea to nine points.

Spurs outclassed Middlesbrough throughout, but took almost an hour to transfer their dominance to the scoreboard, England striker Kane firing home a 57th-minute penalty after Son Heung-Min was felled in the box by Bernardo.

Middlesbrough had their chances to equalise with Alvaro Negredo firing an acrobatic scissors kick wide with five minutes to go and Marten De Roon's injury-time shot also going close.

The win left Spurs, who travel to Liverpool next weekend, in second on 50 points, nine behind Chelsea and three ahead of North London rivals Arsenal, while Middlesbrough remained 15th on 21 points.

(Reporting by Philip O'Connor, editing by Neil Robinson)