Tottenham vs Barnsley: Dele Alli's second-half strike sees Spurs into Carabao Cup fourth round

Dele Alli ensured Tottenham would not suffer another night of Wembley frustration after sending Mauricio Pochettino's side into the Carabao Cup fourth round.

And how Pochettino needed Alli to finally come good to see off Barnsley. A slow start to the season had seen the England man come under fire from his own supporters.

They were threatening to turn against him as he was caught surrendering possession countless times. But form is temporary, and class is permanent.

Alli helped a Tottenham making heavy weather of beating a struggling Championship side, with the 65th minute breakthrough.

Significantly he immediately cupped his ears as he wheeled away in celebration. How much impact that would have made is anyone's guess, given there was a sparse crowd at the home of English football.

They most probably expected Pochettino to field a host of understudies, with the Argentine boss making no secret of where this competition ranks in Tottenham's priorities. But that was far from the case on the night.

There might have been five changes from Saturday's frustrating stalemate with Swansea, but there were still eight internationals included, with the insurance of Harry Kane and Christian Eriksen among the substitutes' bench if required.

Having drawn twice and lost once in the Premier League so far this season, perhaps he was keen to ensure there was no jinx at their temporary new home.

Alli was still a surprise starter and it was his break which saw debutant Juan Foyth head just wide early on following the former's corner.

Fernando Llorente was another making his first start. He also made an immediate impact when he set up Alli but his shot was wayward to sum up large spells of his night.

And before long it seemed it would be a case of déjà vu of the weekend where Spurs would need to knock down the defensive brick wall once again being put up in front of them.

Mousa Dembele shot tamely at Barnsley goalkeeper Adam Davies before Llorente missed a clear chance after 26 minutes. The Spanish striker found himself unmarked but could somehow only head Kieran Tripper's corner over the crossbar from close-range.

Standing in for Kane, it was a chance he would have expected to have taken in his big audition.

Barnsley were content to sit it and frustrate. When they did break out, only a fine covering tackle from Jan Vertonghen halted Harvey Barnes in his tracks.

Joe Williams then headed Barnes' wide just before the break in another warning to the hosts that they were not guaranteed an easy passage.

If Barnsley had carved out half chances at the end of the first-half, they created a clear cut one inside 30 seconds of the restart.

Zeki Fryers' long ball was latched on to by Ike Ugbo, who beat Jan Vertonghen to the bouncing ball before the striker was foiled by Michel Vorm's fine save.

He held his head in his hands as he knew Barnsley, who were growing in confidence, would not get a better chance.

Alli saw his 20-yard drive drift inches wide following a deflection. It summed up the commitment to the cause of Barnsley's players as they continued to put their bodies on the line.

Kieran Trippier was fortunate that referee Tim Robinson deemed his handball in his own area was not intentional. And then the breakthrough. Just moments after Harry Winks was denied by Davies and, just when Pochettino was considering throwing on Kane, Alli broke Barnsley hearts.

Trippier, for once, found room behind the Barnsley defence and his pull back saw Alli find room to slot home from six yards out.

Reacting to the result, Pochettino said: "In the end yes, it was a tough game, I want to congratulate Barnsley, they defend very well. It was a tough game. It was difficult to create chances. We could not shoot on target for the first 60 minutes. That speaks well about the work of our opponent.

"Michel Vorm deserves praise because his save at the beginning of the second half; he kept us alive. In the way he works it’s fair to recognise his value and congratulate him.

"The performance was good. There are a lot of positive things to take. Then the opportunity to go to the next stage. We have achieved that and we’re happy.

On Alli's performance, he added: "Dele is a top player, one of the key players for us. It helps us scoring today. It’s true everyone can do better but I am happy. It’s a period like before yesterday I said he needed to find his balance. His performance was good, he tried and scored, that’s fantastic."