Stoke City 1-3 Tottenham: Kane on target as Spurs reach last four

London, December 24: A thunderous strike from Ben Davies and Harry Kane's 16th goal of the season sealed Tottenham's place in the EFL Cup semi-final as Stoke City were consigned to a 3-1 home defeat.

Spurs dominated the first half and Gareth Bale put them ahead with a glancing header on a miserable Wednesday evening.

Bale was withdrawn at the break, leading to concerns he may have sustained another injury, and Jordan Thompson equalised with Stoke's first shot of the tie eight minutes into the second half.

Spurs were not to be denied a place in the last four, though, as Davies thumped in from distance before Kane sealed a first win in four games as Tottenham moved to within two victories of lifting their first trophy since 2008.

Tottenham were well on top from the start and Andy Lonergan beat away Kane's venomous strike from a tight angle, though the visitors had their lead when Bale cleverly nodded in an inviting Harry Winks cross in the 22nd minute.

Lonergan spread himself well to deny Dele Alli, who was thwarted again by a fingertip save from the Stoke goalkeeper when his measured shot was heading for the bottom corner.

Son Heung-min replaced Bale at the break and Stoke were level from out of the blue after 53 minutes, Thompson tucking Jacob Brown's cross home with his left foot.

Fit-again Erik Lamela came on alongside Moussa Sissoko, replacing Alli and Lucas Moura, as Jose Mourinho tried to inject some impetus, though it was Davies who provided the quality Spurs had been lacking in the second half, collecting a loose ball and driving in off the post from long range.

Son should have had Spurs' third but the flag was incorrectly raised, with no VAR in this competition, but Kane rifled home clinically to give Tottenham breathing space, with Steven Fletcher missing the chance to set up a tense final when he headed wide.