Tottenham ace Harry Kane will be remembered as one of the finest strikers to ever grace English football. But back in 2014, the England international had a howler when called upon as an emergency goalkeeper during the closing stages of a Europa League clash with Asteras Tripolis. Kane had already bagged a hat-trick in the match but then conceded from a soft free-kick as Spurs ran out 5-1 winners.
Tottenham were unbeaten in the 2014/15 Europa League group stages by the time they came up against Asteras Tripolis at White Hart Lane two months before Christmas. And they illustrated their dominance against the Greek side as Kane grabbed the opening goal, before Erik Lamela doubled his side’s advantage before half-time.
Lamela killed the contest off midway through the second period as he notched a third, with Kane scoring two more goals late on.
Disaster struck for Spurs, however, when goalkeeper Hugo Lloris was sent off with three minutes remaining. As the north London giants had made all their permitted substitutions, manager Mauricio Pochettino turned to Kane to put the purple goalkeeping jersey on as the seconds ticked away.
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Tottenham ultimately qualified for the last 16 of the Europa League that season but had to settle for second place in their group as Besiktas finished ahead of them. And Spurs weren’t able to reach the quarter-finals as they were dispatched by Fiorentina 3-1 on aggregate in the first knockout round.
Kane has gone on to become Tottenham’s highest scorer of all-time and has won three Premier League Golden Boot awards after bagging an incredible 268 goals in 421 games for the club. He helped the Lilywhites reach the 2018/19 Champions League final, where they suffered a 2-0 defeat at the hands of Liverpool. But the 29-year-old is yet to win a single trophy for club or country.
