Forwards double puts Spurs on their way to Wembley
Fulham Vs Tottenham – 18th February
Two goals from Striker Robbie Keane and a double from substitute Berbatov eased Tottenham into the sixth round at the expense of Fulham.
With the home crowd expectant of a close run game after a League encounter which ended 1-1, they were left disappointed as their side ended with ten men and were thoroughly blown away by their classy City rivals.
Having been given a bye through the midweek round of UEFA Cup games, Tottenham fielded an almost full strength line up for this tricky encounter. Mido was given a recall, with Stateri being given a starting berth along side Aaron Lennon.
Fulham started with the same side which beat Newcastle in their last outing meaning there was no place for Montella but Smertin and Davies both started.
The game was effectively over as a contest within the first five minutes as Spurs started with all the possession and got a vital early goal through Robbie Keane. A long ball downfield found the Irishman via the head of Mido; making no mistake he lashed the ball into the corner of the net after being given too much space by the Fulham defense.
The away side looked to settle following this with Gardner and Dawson seemingly always in control at the back, but it was still Fulham who had the better chances following Keane's opener. A bizarre back pass from Mido set up a passage of play in which Tottenham nearly conceded as McBride flicked onto Radzinski who had his shot tipped over by Robinson.
The England number one was also forced into another save when McBride himself had a go, but found the man between the sticks equal to his effort.
Tottenham appeared to be happy to soak up the pressure and play on the break which almost worked to perfection as Lennon caused problems for the Cottagers with his pacey runs. Keane also looked dangerous but they could not add to their lead on several occasions thanks to sturdy defending from Fulham.
Despite two early substitutions in the second period, Fulham still lacked cutting edge and despite good work from Smertin, Robinson was not tested by the mainly half hearted efforts of the host.
The Fulham game plan pretty much went out of the window moments later when in identical fashion to the first half Mido flicked on for Keane to volley home his second of the game. Home heads immediately dipped and it now became a question of how many rather then who would win.
Lennon brought another save out of Lastuvka and upon the introduction of Berbatov things only got worse for the West London side as they conceded a third.
Shortly after coming close to beating Robinson, Spurs counted through Zokora whose piercing run split the Fulham defense in two. Not knowing whether to come or go the defense allowed far too much space to the Spurs Number 9 who despite hitting the post with the first effort made no mistake with the rebound and guaranteed his side a place in the next found.
Fulham kept banging away at the Tottenham door but could not find away past Robinson who despite some dodgy handling on two occasions managed to keep the ball out of his net. Yet again Fulham were caught by a sucker punch for the final Spurs goal as they were nearly celebrating at one end thanks to some sloppy Spurs defending nearly leading to an own goal they were soon torn apart by the acceleration and style of Spurs.
Chimbonda found Keane who nonchalantly flicked the ball into the path of Berbatov who supplied an excellent and fitting finish. Time seemed to stop as the ball was in the air but the player was clearly onside and yet again poor defending from Fulham cost them.
With Tottenham seemingly able to put aside their extremely temperamental league form in cup competitions, they will be looking for home draw in the quarter finals to give them an excellent chance of reaching the later stages yet again.
Having been given a bye through the midweek round of UEFA Cup games, Tottenham fielded an almost full strength line up for this tricky encounter. Mido was given a recall, with Stateri being given a starting berth along side Aaron Lennon.
Fulham started with the same side which beat Newcastle in their last outing meaning there was no place for Montella but Smertin and Davies both started.
The game was effectively over as a contest within the first five minutes as Spurs started with all the possession and got a vital early goal through Robbie Keane. A long ball downfield found the Irishman via the head of Mido; making no mistake he lashed the ball into the corner of the net after being given too much space by the Fulham defense.
The away side looked to settle following this with Gardner and Dawson seemingly always in control at the back, but it was still Fulham who had the better chances following Keane's opener. A bizarre back pass from Mido set up a passage of play in which Tottenham nearly conceded as McBride flicked onto Radzinski who had his shot tipped over by Robinson.
The England number one was also forced into another save when McBride himself had a go, but found the man between the sticks equal to his effort.
Tottenham appeared to be happy to soak up the pressure and play on the break which almost worked to perfection as Lennon caused problems for the Cottagers with his pacey runs. Keane also looked dangerous but they could not add to their lead on several occasions thanks to sturdy defending from Fulham.
Despite two early substitutions in the second period, Fulham still lacked cutting edge and despite good work from Smertin, Robinson was not tested by the mainly half hearted efforts of the host.
The Fulham game plan pretty much went out of the window moments later when in identical fashion to the first half Mido flicked on for Keane to volley home his second of the game. Home heads immediately dipped and it now became a question of how many rather then who would win.
Lennon brought another save out of Lastuvka and upon the introduction of Berbatov things only got worse for the West London side as they conceded a third.
Shortly after coming close to beating Robinson, Spurs counted through Zokora whose piercing run split the Fulham defense in two. Not knowing whether to come or go the defense allowed far too much space to the Spurs Number 9 who despite hitting the post with the first effort made no mistake with the rebound and guaranteed his side a place in the next found.
Fulham kept banging away at the Tottenham door but could not find away past Robinson who despite some dodgy handling on two occasions managed to keep the ball out of his net. Yet again Fulham were caught by a sucker punch for the final Spurs goal as they were nearly celebrating at one end thanks to some sloppy Spurs defending nearly leading to an own goal they were soon torn apart by the acceleration and style of Spurs.
Chimbonda found Keane who nonchalantly flicked the ball into the path of Berbatov who supplied an excellent and fitting finish. Time seemed to stop as the ball was in the air but the player was clearly onside and yet again poor defending from Fulham cost them.
With Tottenham seemingly able to put aside their extremely temperamental league form in cup competitions, they will be looking for home draw in the quarter finals to give them an excellent chance of reaching the later stages yet again.