Having made the short trip to the Colchester Community Stadium to face the struggling League One side, Mauricio Pochettino’s side sealed a comfortable victory whilst being afforded the luxury of resting a number of first team regulars.
Usual starters Kyle Walker, Hugo Lloris, Dele Alli and Toby Alderweireld were all being left out of the starting XI, whilst those who deputised proved more than able to run out victorious against an attacking minded opposition.
With Colchester United manager Kevin Keen admitting his side were going out to score more than their opposition, the game was open from the off with Tottenham Hotspur having a number of good chances early on.
It was the North Londoners who eventually opened the scoring with Nacer Chadli firing in from just outside the box, past the helpless Colchester defence.
The travelling Spurs fans had to wait until after the break to add a second, when Eric Dier moved up the pitch with no pressure before seeing his deflected shot leave Jake Kean stranded in the home goal.
Second half substitute Marvin Sordell almost pulled a goal back but saw his shot beat Michel Vorm but not the post in the Tottenham net. Just minutes later, Chadli added his second of the game as he headed in a cross from the ever dangerous Kieran Trippier.
Within two minutes, however, Colchester had pulled back a consolation when Ben Davies deflected a strike into his own goal in the 80th minute.
But Tottenham had the final say as Tom Carroll got on the end of a Chadli cross to seal safe passage into the fifth round of the FA Cup for the first time since 2012.
“…it was a fair result”
Following the result, former Southampton boss Pochettino expressed his satisfaction at his sides performance away to the basement side in League 1.
Having missed a number of opportunities throughout the contest, Harry Kane and Chadli being the most notable culprits, the Spurs boss claimed the match was “always under control” and in the end it was a “very fair result”.
With the FA Cup being one of the most unpredictable competitions in world football, Tottenham will have been relieved to have avoided a giant killing despite a couple of good chances for the home side, particularly in the second half.
Describing the competition as “magic” with the opponents always believing it could be “their day”, the former Argentine international was thankful his side didn’t regret early missed opportunities, when finding the opening goal was proving “impossible”.
“…it wasn’t easy”
Tottenham man of the match Chadli was left to reflect on a job well done, in which the Belgian international scored his fourth goal in just three games.
Having recently returned from injury, the former FC Twente man followed up claims he can step in as a second striker for Tottenham by scoring two goals whilst also providing one assist.
Despite putting in an impressive performance all round, Chadli was quick to explain how the “most important thing” was that his side “are in to the next round”.
Watching the rest of the cup ties with interest
Ahead of the FA Cup fifth round draw on Sunday afternoon, following the MK Dons against Chelsea tie, Pochettino will be hoping the next round proves to be just as comfortable as the trip to Colchester.
With matches coming thick and fast, with his side still in three competitions, the longer this cup run goes on, the longer the Tottenham faithful will believe this season might just be their time to shine.