Sport

ICYMI: Matt Doherty put on a masterclass on Monday night as Spurs thumped Everton 5-0

IT'S FAIR to say that Ireland and Tottenham full-back Matt Doherty has had a torrid time in north London since moving to the club from Wolves in the summer of 2020.

Rumours started to circulate in the January transfer window that Doherty could be sold back to his old club Wolves in a swap deal with Adama Traore, but it never came to fruition.

The former Bohemians player excelled under Nuno Espirito Santo at wing-back, but struggled to hit the same levels under Jose Mourinho and Antonio Conte.

This was the first time that the Dubliner started consecutive Premier League matches since under the days of Mourinho,

Last night the 30-year-old set up two goals for Harry Kane with superb passes as Spurs won 5-0 against Everton in a game that had major ramifications for both ends of the table.

The 30-year-old got things going when he slid a ball through to Harry Kane, who coolly slotted it past Everton's Jordan Pickford to make it 3-0 with 36 minutes gone.

His second assist to make it 5-0 was a thing of beauty. Doherty clipped an inch-perfect ball over the top, which Kane matched with an even better first-time finish into the far corner.

What a pass. What a finish 🔥

If you told me 2 weeks ago that I'd be transferring in Matt Doherty I'd have laughed

I'm not laughing nowpic.twitter.com/5gyMHGYQ1k

— FPL Banger Podcast 🎙️ (@FPL_Banger) March 8, 2022

His manager Conte highlighted and name-checked him in the post match interview saying that he has seen improvement in since taking over

"Doherty is another player who I'd like to underline the improvement [in]", said the Italian.

His stats according to SofaScore, read: four key passes, completed 85% of his passes, won nine duels, had 86 touches and made five tackles in the game, a solid outing.

Many people watching felt it was the Dubliners best game for the club and it was hard to disagree.

The Evening Standard gave the full-back a 9 in it's player rating's last night and said:

"No question his best game for Spurs. Finished with two excellent assists for Kane and nearly scored when he fired a fierce effort at Pickford. Linked up well with Kulusevski in a really encouraging display." 9

Football London agreed with that sentiment and said:

His best game in a Spurs shirt by a mile. Came inside into the center of the pitch and put Son away for a one-vs-one with a great ball. Then he played an excellent first time pass into the path of Kane for Tottenham's third goal. He grabbed another assist for the striker with a pinpoint flighted ball for him to volley home. 9.

It wasn't a good night for Everton and Ireland captain Seamus Coleman, who endured another torrid night. It will be interesting to see if Doherty can oust his colleague when Ireland play the upcoming international games.