Roberto Soldado strike spurs Tottenham on to Everton victory

Tottenham boss Mauricio Pochettino made some tough decisions ahead of this crunch clash with Europa League rivals Everton and, despite a shaky start, they eventually paid dividends as Spurs swept to victory.

First up was the Argentine coach’s continued perseverance with frustrating forward Roberto Soldado, who grabbed the eventual winner just before the break, making amends for his earlier missed tackle on Kevin Mirallas.

The Spaniard has not endured an easy time since his switch to White Hart Lane, and his relief was palpable after netting his first in 12 Premier League outings this term.

Soldado benefited from the support of Pochettino’s plum picks of Harry Kane and Aaron Lennon. In a bold move, Spurs took on the Toffees with two up top, but still managed to dominate the midfield battle.

Lennon made a rare and surprising start, selected for his pace and experience over the recently returning Nacer Chadli, one of Tottenham’s top scorers this season, and club record buy Erik Lamela.

Spurs’ reply to going behind to Mirallas’ exquisite early opener was the perfect tonic for Pochettino, whose selections justified themselves with a rapid response.

Crafty and quick-thinking throughout, Kane fashioned most of Tottenham’s best chances. His low shot was spilled by Tim Howard around the 20-minute mark, and the excellent Christian Eriksen was on hand to follow in, finishing with aplomb.

Impressive Kane continued to drop deep and press throughout, eventually dispossessing Gareth Barry, with the ball falling to Lennon. The rapid winger notched up an easy assist by sliding a perfectly weighted pass through to an on-rushing and eager Soldado to slot home and silence critics.

Tottenham’s workrate continuously caused Everton problems, as Eriksen’s selection in a wide role proved him to be more than capable of contributing industry as well as guile.

Spurs did not have it all their own way, however, as Roberto Martinez’s men set a frenetic and energetic tone from the off. It wasn’t until after their equaliser that Spurs began to look like the home team, with Everton still enjoying an inordinate amount of possession.