Brighton 1 Tottenham 2: Harry Kane’s first-half penalty seals win for Mauricio Pochettino's side

Tottenham boss Mauricio Pochettino said Spurs "needed to feel victory again" after beating Brighton to end a run of three straight defeats.

Harry Kane broke the deadlock in a first half of few chances, drilling in a penalty after a Glenn Murray handball. Substitute Erik Lamela scored their second to ensure there would be no repeat of their Champions League collapse at Inter Milan in midweek.

Anthony Knockaert pulled one back in stoppage time but Brighton were unable to salvage a third straight Premier League draw, BBC reported.

"The victory was so important for us," said Pochettino. "We know it's tough to play here. Brighton are a very aggressive team on set-pieces and they're a team that works so hard.

"But we worked hard too and played well in different periods of the game.

Scroll down for video

"We were so aggressive and then with the ball we played some good football so I am happy with the three points, but more pleased with the performance and the reaction."

Given the heavy rain and their recent form, it was hardly surprising to see Spurs gain early control of the game and play with a low-risk strategy.

At half-time they had enjoyed 78.6% possession with a passing accuracy of 92.4% - although few of those passes were telling balls into the final third.

While that led to a half as drab as the weather, Spurs were comfortable before the break without looking like they would carve open the hosts' defence.

Kane's penalty was one of only two shots on target in the first half. The other was from a Kieran Trippier corner, when Toby Alderweireld's near-post header was deflected and keeper Mat Ryan saved acrobatically to his left.

The game opened up after the interval, with Brighton enjoying a brief spell of pressure, but Spurs continued to monopolise possession.

Lamela spread the play to the recalled Lucas Moura, who found Rose down the left before Lamela got on the end of a low cross to ease any Tottenham nerves.

Spurs have shown they can play more expansively than this, but after league defeats by Watford and Liverpool, Pochettino will be happy to leave that for another day.

Culled from BBC

My view: Harry Kane must step up his scoring skills, from other angles, if he doesn't want to be called the 'Penalty scorer.'