Harry Kane and Pierre-Emile Højbjerg lead Spurs fightback against Brentford

Better late than never, right? Tottenham Hotspur cannot be counted out this season. However down they might be – in this case they were in the red thanks to goals from Vitaly Janelt and Ivan Toney – there is seemingly always a way back.

And so Harry Kane and Pierre-Emile Højbjerg proved, ensuring Brentford were unable to claim the victory that for more than an hour seemed likely. It was not the most dramatic of a series of Tottenham comebacks that has seen them claim 14 points from games they were behind in this season. There is no doubting their steel, however, though they will be concerned at their habit of conceding first – here they did so for the ninth game in a row.

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Kane and Toney, each club’s respective poster-boy, were naturally the focus of the pre-game attention. Both played their part to fulfil the narrative.

Kane’s excellent World Cup performances will barely register in mitigation of the pain caused by that penalty miss. Thankfully – with the notable exceptions of various online cesspits – football has largely moved on from the vitriolic personal abuse suffered previously by those who have erred while on England duty.

But there were still occasional insults aimed Kane’s way, among them an early cry of “Ivan Toney, he would have scored that” from home fans.

It was equal parts Kane critique and Toney support, the latter having endured an eventful few months. Within 48 hours of missing out on Gareth Southgate’s Qatar-bound squad, he scored a stoppage-time winner at Manchester City.

Barely the same period had passed again before Toney was charged by the Football Association with 232 alleged breaches of its gambling laws. That grew by a further 30 counts shortly before Christmas.

Whether or not you believe the breadth of the FA’s Rule E8 is draconian, Toney faces a potentially lengthy absence if the charges are upheld. Such is his importance to Brentford that it could derail their steady-as-she-goes second season in the top flight. Typically though, Toney did not give off the air of a man with the weight of the world on his shoulders; more a man inspired.

Vitaly Janelt (right) is congratulated by his teammates after giving Brentford the lead. Photograph: Kirsty Wigglesworth/AP

Shortly before kick-off the Brentford manager Thomas Frank described his centre-forward as a “remarkable character”, and Toney put it in a performance that proved him right. He bullied Tottenham throughout with special focus on Japhet Tanganga, whose rare start was mercifully cut short by Antonio Conte. Cristian Romero, absent basking in World Cup glory, will not be concerned for his place.

Fifteen minutes in, Toney rose above Tanganga to flick on for Bryan Mbuemo. His cross was met by Mathias Jensen’s volley, which would not have troubled Fraser Forster but for a deflection off Clément Lenglet. Forster, handed a league debut with Hugo Lloris on the bench, could only palm straight to Janelt.

Toney almost increased Brentford’s advantage shortly before the break but, having coolly rounded Forster and finished, the flag was raised. He did not have to wait long for the goal he craved, though. Ten minutes after the break, Mbuemo’s inswinging corner was flicked on by Christian Nørgaard at the near post, and Toney stabbed in.

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Conte’s irritation was obvious, but his side’s lackadaisical showing didn’t merit anything better. Kane was virtually anonymous until he virtually begged David Coote for a penalty early in the second half. He had grappled with Ben Meer at the far post but a VAR check confirmed Coote’s initial view. Almost immediately, Eric Dier made a hash of a clearance, conceding the corner from which Brentford scored their second, and Conte sat down.

However Kane would soon bring the Italian back to his feet, rising to head Lenglet’s whipped centre beyond David Raya. With it Kane passed Robbie Fowler’s tally of nine Boxing Day Premier League goals, and completed a full house of scoring against all 32 sides he has faced in the division.

Bournemouth, Marseille, Leeds: surely Spurs could not do it again? Well, not quite, but almost. They levelled when Dejan Kulusevski was fleet of foot in the penalty area, played a one-two with Matt Doherty and pulled back for Højbjerg, who finished calmly.

A relatively serene Boxing Day lunchtime had suddenly turned chaotic. In a two-minute spell Doherty escaped a booking for tumbling easily in the penalty box, Mbuemo was booked for an obvious attempt at deception, and Ethan Pinnock appear to block Kane’s close-range shot with his hand, only to be saved by the offside flag.

Kane almost claimed victory when beating Raya to a cross only to see his header hit the bar. It would have been unjust.