SENSATIONAL ACE WORDS LED TO DRESSING ROOM UNREST….

SENSATIONAL ACE WORDS LED TO DRESSING ROOM UNREST….

TOTTENHAM moved to the top of the Premier League table after their hard-fought victory over Luton Town in front of 10,929 spectators on Saturday lunchtime.

Kenilworth Road hosted a full-blooded affair in front of another crackling atmosphere, that saw 10-man Spurs emerge victorious through a second half strike from Micky van de Ven in the balmy Bedfordshire sunshine.

Tottenham’s £34.5m summer signing from Wolfsburg’s neat finish after the break was enough for his side to leapfrog treble winners Manchester City into top spot, ahead of the rest of the weekend’s fixtures.

Ange Postocoglu’s side played the entire second half a man short, after Yves Bissouma was sent off after picking up two yellow cards before the interval, the second of which was for diving in the box.

In an enthralling match, Richarlison — who was hooked at half time in favour of Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg to lend more solidity to the depleted line-up following Bissouma’s expulsion — could have put the visitors ahead after only 180 seconds, when attempting to get on the end of a James Maddison cross, but the Brazil international saw his close-range effort fly narrowly wide.

Five minutes later Tottenham’s Pedro Porra steered his effort just the wrong side of Hatters keeper Thomas Kaminski’s left-hand post, after being set free via an astute through-ball. Moments later Son Heung-Min fired over the bar, before going close with another chance after 17 minutes, as Postecoglu’s lively side underlined their dominance.

While the former Celtic boss may be an unassuming presence, he has already won a mass of admirers south of the border — and not just for his unprepossessing nature. Witness his jumper, trousers and trainers combo on the touchline, which, allied with an avuncular presence — albeit one that betrays a razor-sharp mind — certainly spoke of a modest air.

Yet, far more importantly on the field of play, his team have impressed during this fledgling campaign so far, with his vibrant Spurs team earning plaudits for the quality of their play, that had propelled them to the heady heights of second place in the table prior to kick-off.

Rob Edwards’s increasingly top-flight savvy side weathered the early onslaught, even fashioning a chance of sorts on 22 minutes, when Marvelous Nakamba — an intelligent presence throughout — powered a drive into Spurs keeper Guglielmo Vicario’s side-netting.

Grand old Kenilworth Road responded, with the noise levels already relentlessly noisy, ramped up still further, as Edwards side and the home support fed off each other’s enthusiasm. Undeterred, Spurs attacked at every opportunity, with Dejan Kulusevski, forcing an excellent save from Kaminski, low down to his right on 29 minutes. The chance coming after a sweeping Spurs move started by Pape Matar Sarr, underlined by excellent movement off the ball from the quality Son.

Luton’s redoubtable captain Tom Lockyer had the ball in the net five minutes before half time, but referee John Brooks correctly ruled it out after a foul in the build-up, when Hatters’ No11 Elijah Adebaya was adjudged to have shoved Cristian Romero — much to the chagrin of the home support, who had momentarily erupted with joy.

Further drama was to follow when Bissouma picked up his second caution of the first half moments before half time, with the man in black, Brooks’s having no option but to issue a red card and send off the 27-year-old Mali international for diving in the penalty area.

Buoyed by the extra man, Luton went agonisingly close moments after the interval when Chiedozie Ogbene played an exquisite ball into the box, only for Elijah Adebaya to narrowly fail to convert from a matter of yards out.

However, Spurs took the lead on 52 minutes when van de Ven, slotted home Maddison’s ball into the box, following a short corner to put the Lilywhites’ 10 men 1-0 ahead.

The 22-year-old Dutch defender, who started his career at FC Volendam, prior to moving to the Bundesliga with Wolfsburg, where he was picked up by Spurs in the summer in a deal that could eventually rise to a total of £43.5m, celebrated with the club’s traveling support in the autumnal sun.

Despite Luton dominating possession and attempting to exploit the extra space against Postecoglou’s 10 men, the visitors held firm, weathering attacks, most notably, when the Hatters Jacob Brown headed over the bar when well-placed after Alfie Doughty’s cross on 64 minutes.

Doughty himself nearly levelled shortly afterwards when his shot flew over the bar, as Edwards praiseworthy side desperately hunted an equaliser, which, alas for Hatters fans, failed to materialise -— as Postecoglu’s worthy winners moved to the top of the