Tottenham Hotspur secured their place in the fourth round of the FA Cup thanks to a powerful Pedro Porro strike against Burnley.
Ange Postecoglou’s men ran out 1-0 winners over Burnley in a match shown live on ITV1.
The home side, who were without the absent pair of Pap Sarr and Heung-Min Son due to their respective national team commitments, began the match on the front foot and tested Clarets goalkeeper Arijant Muric on several occasions.
Although Richarlison and Brennan Johnson both went close early on, the best chance of the opening stages fell to the away side just before the half-hour mark.
Annas Zaroury’s threaded ball put Zeki Andouni through one-on-one with Spurs keeper Guglilemo Vicario, but the Swiss couldn’t sort his feet out in time and blasted over the bar.
Spurs then started to regain control and could have gone ahead on 32 minutes when Porro’s excellent cross found the boot of Johnson.
The former Nottingham Forest forward’s effort, however, also sailed over the bar.
Despite the first-half profligacy, Spurs continued to press and harried the Burnley back line into numerous mistakes, with Johnson repeatedly sprinting in behind Clarets’ full-back Vitinho, who was struggling to cope with the intensity of the game.
The second period started with Spurs’ right-hand side dominating proceedings.
Porro and Dejan Kulusevski, who had formed a good partnership on the night, developed the first chance of the second half as the Swede shifted inside from a Porro cutback and curled a good effort just over Muric’s goal from the edge of the box.
Vincent Kompany’s side remained resolute, however, and built pressure on the Spurs backline, with Josh Brownhill and Andouni both having efforts on goal that were blocked by Ben Davies and Emerson Royal respectively.
Moments later, Udogie escaped beyond Vitinho and switched the ball across the box to Johnson.
His volley was blasted straight at Muric though and the keeper easily palmed the ball away from danger.
With the game stretched and neither side looking particularly dangerous, the fixture was poised, and it felt like it might take a moment of magic from someone to break the deadlock.
The excellent Dara O’Shea in the Burnley defence snuffed out a swift Spurs counterattack, and substitute Jacon Bruun Larsen stung the palms of Vicario just seconds apart, but the absence of Son was evident on the night as Spurs flattered to deceive in front of goal.
Just minutes later, Spurs were ahead thanks to an outstanding strike from Porro.
The Spaniard won the ball back after Burnley had tried to mount a quick counter attack through a Muric throw.
He nipped in and pinched it off the defender's toes before lashing an arrow straight shot from 25 yards, across the face of goal and into the far corner.
Although Kompany’s side continued to battle, they couldn’t find a response and were ultimately knocked out of football’s oldest cup competition at the first time of asking.
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules here