Middlesbrough 1-2 Tottenham: Son at the double as Karanka's bad run continues - 5 things we learned

The South Korean international's fine start to the season downed Boro and helped Mauricio Pochettino's cope without the injured Harry Kane

Heung Min Son turned Teesside into the land of the rising Son as Tottenham made it five wins out of six.

But Spurs, in complete command for an hour, stumbled over the line when they should have been able to saunter home.

And Middlesbrough , insipid until the arrival of substitute Adama Traore, will wonder why it took so long to discover their sense of adventure – because when the storm arrived, Tottenham were rocking by the Riverside.

Dele Alli had already seen his dipping shot turned over the angle by Victor Valdes when Spurs broke through after only seven minutes, Son collecting Vincent Janssen's return pass to fire his third goal in as many Premier League appearances this season.

And the elusive Korean was back in business midway through the first half with a tremendous angled finish into the far corner.

Alli had enough time and space to miss a sitter and have a viable penalty shout ignored by referee before the interval, when Boro's hermits – frightened to venture out of their own half – were booed off.

There seemed little danger of Tottenham taking home anything home anything less than all the swag until two proud sons of Teesside combined to give them a foothold in the contest, Ben Gibson bulldozing past Victor Wanyama to meet Stewart Downing's free-kick with a firm header.

Here are five things we learned from the Riverside:

Action Images via Reuters

Boro rallied but could not find another to earn a point

1. No Kane, no problem

You would have thought, from the hourly clamour for updates on his condition, that England striker Harry Kane was in intensive care, if not actually dead.

In fact, the swelling around his damaged ankle ligaments has started to subside and we may find out before December how long Kane is likely to be out of action.

In his absence, Spurs have hit five against Gillingham in the League Cup and breezed home on cruise control here. No Kane, no problem.

Reuters

Son Heung-min celebrates scoring Spurs' first goal with Vincent Janssen

2. Lane of the rising Son

Korean international Heung-min Son asked for a transfer in the summer because he was frustrated by his lack of first-team opportunities at Tottenham.

It's a good job for Spurs that manager Mauricio Pochettino rejected his request and Son resolved to fight for his place – because he has been a revelation since he returned from the Rio Olympics, where South Korea were knocked out by Honduras in the quarter-finals.

He scored twice in the 4-0 thrashing of Stoke earlier this month, and Son's pair of crisp finishes inside the first 23 minutes at the Riverside (one with his left foot, the other with his right) set the tone for another commanding Tottenham performance on the road.

Reuters

Middlesbrough's Alvaro Negredo shoots at goal

3. Boro less adventurous than hermits

Until flying winger Adama Traore's arrival from the bench, and with home fans roaring their team on despite having little to cheer for an hour, Boro were insipid, uninspired and outclassed.

They barely crossed the halfway line for 45 minutes, and yet Aitor Karanka's men made a decent fist of it after Traore's introduction.

In fairness, games against title contenders will not determine whether Boro stay up. But at home, they have little to gain by waiting until they are 2-0 down to take the fight to gilded opponents.

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Son is in fine form for Pochettino's side

4. One survivor from the Red Lion in 2008

Strange but true: The last time I watched this fixture, in August 2008, I was in a pub called the Red Lion... in Beijing.

James DeGale had just won the last of Team GB's 19 gold medals at the Olympic Games, 300 yards down the road at the Workers' Stadium, and a few of us retired to licensed premises at 10pm to watch the live football being beamed around the world from good old Blighty.

Goals from David Wheater and former Spurs striker Mido clinched a 2-1 win for Boro on the opening day of the season, but it proved a false dawn for Gareth Southgate's men – they went down nine months later.

The only survivor, on either side, from that game – on the rebound from Liverpool, Aston Villa and West Ham – was Boro's Stewart Downing.

Action Images via Reuters

Ben Gibson pulls one back for Boro

5. Culture, condom or child catcher's net?

Nothing to do with the football, but just outside the Riverside there is one of those bizarre sculptures a lot of towns have knocked up lately to demonstrate how easy it is for councils to waste money.

No offence, but this oddity does little for Middlesbrough's cultural identity. It looks like a giant condom or a huge replica of the child catcher's net from Chitty Chitty Bang Bang.

Getty Images

Antonio Barragan and Dele Alli battle for possession

Player Ratings

Middlesbrough

Valdes 6 - Never used to be this busy at the Nou Camp

Barragan 4 - Gave the ball away like Green Shield stamps

Chambers 5 - Thankless way for on-loan Arsenal defender to make his debut

Gibson 5 - Torrid afternoon until his header gave Boro hope

Friend 6 – Booked. Boro's best defender, which is like commending your favourite illness

Clayton 5 - Willing and energetic, but not quite the ticket in this company

De Roon 4 - Off the boil, unlike that poor rabbit in Fatal Attraction

Stuani 5 - Early promise then, as if by magic, he disappeared

Ramirez 5 - Bright start but faded quicker than your summer holiday tan

Downing 5 - Too much on his plate defensively to be a creative influence

Negredo 5 - Minimal impact, but in his defence the service was lousy

SUBS: Traore [booked] (Ramirez, 59) 7, Rhodes (Negredo, 59) 6, Forshaw (Clayton, 82)

Getty Images

Victor Valdes saves from Moussa Sissoko's volley

Tottenham

Lloris 6 - Safe as houses, except homes built on flood plains

Walker 7 - Booked. Safe as houses, except homes built on quicksand

Alderweireld 8 - Safe as houses, except homes undermined by subsidence

Vertonghen 8 - Safe as houses, except homes over-priced by estate agents

Davies 6 - Safe as houses, except those in the path of that stupid HS2 railway

Wanyama 7 - Safe as a brick alehouse and built like one, too

Sissoko 6 - That's enough house analogies, how about cars? Good engine

Son 8 – MOM Two superb finishes asserted Tottenham's authority early

Alli 7 - Missed a sitter but pulled more strings than a golden harp

Eriksen 6 - Tidier than a student's bedroom before the carnage of Freshers Week

Janssen 5 - Sooner or later, Harry Kane's deputy is going to make a name for himself

SUBS: Lamela (Sissoko, 69) 5, Winks (Janssen, 86), Nkoudou (Eriksen, 89)