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Son Heung-min and Harry Kane stepped forward again when necessary, as they pulled Tottenham out of trouble in a 3-1 Europa League third-round qualifying win over Shkendija.
Son and Kane staged a 5-2 win over Southampton on Sunday, with Son pocketing four and Kane getting four assists and a goal, both scoring again in the final 20 minutes in North Macedonia as Spurs advanced to a play-off. against Maccabi Haifa next week.
Erik Lamela had put them in front from the start, but a good shot from Valmir Nafiu in the second half had threatened to make the night nervous for José Mourinho’s men.
Mourinho called Kane, who started the game on the bench, but it was Son who regained the lead in the 70th minute before the England captain resolved the duel nine minutes later.
It wasn’t pretty for Spurs, but they got the spot and will play the Israeli team in a one-off match at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium next Thursday for a chance to advance to the group stage.
Having needed two goals in the final 10 minutes to overtake Lokomotiv Plovdiv in last week’s second-round tie, Mourinho’s men will be happy with the start as they took a fourth-minute lead.
Lamela was left on acres of back post space and Son chose it perfectly, with the Argentine landing on the right foot.
That could have been the launch pad for a much easier night, but despite controlling the game, they had a hard time creating too many opportunities.
Dele Alli, who was playing after staying out of the last two games, had the best of them before the break as the Spurs again entered from the right and Serge Aurier retired for the England international, but his shot was brilliantly stopped by Kostadin Zahov.
The inability to end the game in those first 45 minutes soon came to bite the Spurs when Shkendija surprised them with a draw in the 55th minute.
Ben Davies gave the ball away and ended up at the feet of Nafiu, who launched an unstoppable shot past Joe Hart and into the top corner.
Mourinho immediately called Kane to try to rescue the situation and opportunities began to flow for the visitors.
Lamela missed a free header when it seemed easier to score and then Kane strangely missed another header opportunity.
In the end, it was Son who restored the Spurs’ lead in the 70th minute.
Tanguy Ndombele and Giovani Lo Celso combined very well to deliver the first blow to Lucas Moura, whose shot was blocked by Zahov, with Son converting the rebound.
Nine minutes later, Kane killed the game and Son began to return the favors on Sunday, where Kane had set up his four goals.
The South Korean threw an alluring cross from the left that Kane didn’t need a second invitation to return home when the Spurs got the job done.
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