Fulham 0-1 Tottenham: Harry Kane scores his 266th Spurs goal to move level with Jimmy Greaves

Harry Kane picked up a short pass from Son Heung-min, flicked away from a Fulham defender with a left-footed flick, cleared himself a meter of space and formed a beautiful low shot around another white shirt.

The ball curled inside a post, lodged in a corner of Bernd Leno’s netting and Tottenham took a barely deserved lead late in the first half.

In doing so, Kane leveled with the great Jimmy Greaves at 266 at the top of the Spurs goalscoring table. Nobody has more. It was a historic moment for the River Thames, as he equaled a record set in 1970. And it was a reminder of the value of a true goalscorer. One capable of pursuing personal milestones as silverware eludes him.

Harry Kane surpassed Jimmy Greaves’ Tottenham goalscoring record on Monday night

The striker scored his 266th goal with the Spurs colors with a fine shot from the edge of the area

Tottenham fans joke that Kane is a ‘one season wonder’ in the stands at Craven Cottage

Kane’s first Spurs goal was converted from six yards off an Andros Townsend header, away at Shamrock Rovers as Tottenham quietly slipped out of the Europa League at the end of that particular group stage.

Over 12 years later and still in business. “He’s just a one-season wonder,” gloated Spurs fans at the Putney End of the ground, a wry jibe designed for those who tried to write off Kane early on.

Nobody writes him off these days, especially those with Tottenham in their hearts. It is the difference for Antonio Conte’s team, more than ever since the return after the World Cup. His brace inspired a 4-0 win at Crystal Palace earlier this month, and he scored the only goal in the FA Cup win against Portsmouth.

Kane was denied a second thanks to an excellent reflex save from Leno to deflect a point-blank header early in the second half.

One was enough to take some of the pressure off boss Conte at a time when doubts are being raised about his future and managing director Fabio Paratici, banned by the Italian FA last week but present at Craven Cottage last night.

It has been a testing period for Tottenham, who toured the capital after two damaging defeats, the home derby against Arsenal and last week after giving up a two-goal lead at Manchester City.

Even Kane admitted before kick-off that the poor results heightened his senses, even if they faced the two teams involved in the title race at the top of the Premier League.

In the end, the disgruntled fans made their feelings clear. It took less than two minutes for them to join in a protest chorus demanding that president Daniel Levy “get out of his club” and sang in support of Conte, who is out of contract at the end of the season.

Indifference from both sides of the World Cup break has pushed Conte’s team back into the group of teams fighting for the top four.

These include Fulham, who have taken advantage of the upward momentum of promotion last season and have proven capable of upsetting elite clubs if they are below their best.

They ousted Chelsea in their previous outing at The Cottage and opened with the same kind of energy and adventure on display that night, pushing the visitors into mistakes and forcing them to dig deeper.

Bobby De Cordova-Reid tested Hugo Lloris from distance, a sharp effort that shot off the turf. Lloris made a good save diving long to his right and then made a more comfortable one to avoid a free kick from Andreas Pereira.

The Tottenham goalkeeper was stung by criticism after costly mistakes against Aston Villa and Arsenal, but kept the score level with another splendid save to frustrate Harrison Reed, who timed his run from midfield and found Pereira’s cross with a firm side volley.

Conte has no problem with his team sitting deep if they can be strong at the back and break through with some threat, but for the first half hour the visitors hardly offered any threat on the counterattack.

Fulham attacked quickly in midfield, while De Cordova-Reid and Willian connected with their full-backs and created overloads in wide areas. Up front, Aleksandar Mitrovic dominated Cristian Romero in the air.

However, some of the fire died down as halftime approached and the visitors began to advance. Harry Kane took aim from 30 meters. The throw from him was too high. Emerson Royal forced Bernd Leno into his first save of the night from an angle.

For the first time, the home team was under prolonged pressure. There were corners to defend as they searched for the halftime sanctuary. They didn’t do it without conceding.

Kane scored with a fabulous goal in the first minute of stoppage time and Conte’s side had pulled the same trick they did at Manchester City on Thursday, weathering an early storm before taking the lead just before half-time.

Adding to Tottenham’s milestone, Kane managed 16 Premier League goals on the season, an impressive number though a long way from the 25 scored by Erling Haaland. And him on a total of 199 Premier League goals as he continues his quest for another record.

Once at the top, Conte’s team seemed more established, capable of exercising more control in a disjointed and even second half.

Leno made his brilliant save from Kane’s header while, at the other end, Mitrovic came close with a looping header and Lloris made a great fingertip save in the final minutes from substitute Manor Solomon.