Here was a reminder that top-class strikers are in short supply throughout the Premier League. Tottenham have an obvious place to look in Harry Kane but as he continues to struggle with the expectation of replicating his remarkable breakthrough season, they join Crystal Palace in searching for a consistent threat at the focal point of their attack.

Both teams struggled to provide the finishing touches to their respective gameplans. Spurs monopolised both possession and territory but as Kane faltered once again, the home side were unable to translate their superiority to the scoreline.

Palace have been hugely impressive on the road in 2015 — they have won 10 of their 13 away games since Alan Pardew took charge on January 3, with this only their third defeat — but there was a blunted edge to the counter-attacking power and pace that rendered them largely ineffective at White Hart Lane.

That said, Spurs were indebted to goalkeeper Hugo Lloris for a remarkable save to deny Bakary Sako the opening goal moments before Mauricio Pochettino’s side took the lead.

But it was still a weakness Pardew identified afterwards, having started with Yannick Bolasie and Sako up front before switching to a 4-2-3-1 system and later introducing Fraizer Campbell in a bid to increase their potency.

“Connor Wickham is still missing, which is a bit of a blow because he started well,” said the Palace boss.

“We miss a bit of presence and nous. I threw Fraizer on but he hasn’t really had a lot of game time. It was a tough game to come into but I just thought we needed somebody with a bit more experience at the top of the pitch. We are getting him up to speed and I will look to include him on Wednesday [against Charlton in the Capital One Cup], maybe to get some game time in him.”

If Tottenham’s winning goal was in part facilitated by Pardew’s expansive style sometimes leaving them overly exposed, it also owed plenty to Heung-min Son and his attempts to ease the burden on Kane by becoming that goalscoring force Spurs have craved.

There was consternation at the club’s failure to sign a striker in the transfer window, despite Son’s £22million arrival from Bayer Leverkusen, but the South Korean picked up where he left off against FK Qarabag with another lung-busting display, laced with quality.

Whether he can take the pressure off Tottenham’s favourite son remains to be seen but, having already played in four different positions in his fledging career at the club, Pochettino is adamant Son could provide a long-term alternative to Kane in leading the attack.

“The energy he showed was amazing and the supporters are very happy with him,” he said. “Son can play at No9, No10, No7 or No11, all different positions in front.”

If possession is nine-tenths of Pochettino’s law, then Son could be, in one sense, the missing piece Spurs have been looking for. The 68th-minute goal he scored was the product of the kind of direct, penetrative running that they have often lacked.

Erik Lamela showed excellent tenacity to win possession, substitute Christian Eriksen exhibited the speed of thought to free Son to run at Palace and the new signing did the rest, nutmegging goalkeeper Alex McCarthy in the process.

While the obvious disappointment at losing shows how far Palace have come under Pardew, this was an important win for Tottenham, especially given they lost five of 10 matches following Europa League engagement last season.

Kane continues to work tirelessly and it is only a matter of time before he scores his first domestic goal of the season but he needs help and Son showed signs of being able to provide it.

He will need to. Goalscorers are always a precious commodity but on a weekend when Jose Mourinho indulged Diego Costa’s cynical side again and Manchester United relied on teenager Anthony Martial to succeed ahead of schedule, the need to find and maintain elite strikers is more widespread than usual.