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  • Date:2008-12-26
  • Kick-off:13:00
  • Venue:White Hart Lane
  • Attendance:35869
  • Referee:Walton, P

Live Commentary

90mins

Full-Time: TOTTENHAM 0-0 FULHAM. The final whistle goes and Spurs will be really unhappy not to have taken all three points.

90mins

Modric sends in a volley crashing into the stands behind the goal as the board is held up signalling a minimum of TWO minutes to be added on here at the end of the second half.

89mins

Erik Nevland comes on to replace Davies.

87mins

Shot comes in hits Chris Baird and the ball spins up and falls into the greatful arms of Schwarzer!

85mins

Lennon receives the ball inside the box and Konchesky flies in to make a brilliant sliding challenge as things start to become desperate for Fulham, that had to be a perfect challenge!

83mins

Great ball in behind Ledley King for Johnson and he could be in on goal here, King puts some pressure on the frontman but he gets his shot off, Gomes makes the save.

80mins

Konchesky picks up the first yellow of the afternoon and his second of the season following an innocuous challenge, Mr Walton has had very little to do here today, it's been far from heated!

78mins

Growns from the away support after a nice pass feeds in Dempsey but the midfielder lets himself down again with an awful ball and Spurs have the ball back.

76mins

The game has got a little scrappy here, Fulham have far from given up on snatching a point but they are putting the brakes on every one of their attacks.

75mins

It's all very sloppy here from Fulham and to be honest, Tottenham deserve to be winning this match, and although they might not be at the minute you have to feel that a goal is on its way.

73mins

Roman Pavlyuchenko is thrown into the frey, Bent is the one who has to make way, perhaps Spurs are hoping his aerial threat will pay off.

70mins

Aaron Lennon scrambles his way into the Fulham box, he digs the ball out and almost plays in Bent but the visitors survive after a manic bit of last ditch defending.

68mins

Good ball into the box from the right and Modric runs on to the cross to head goalwards, his effort is poor though and sails well wide.

66mins

News is coming through here that Bullard's injury was a dead leg, fortunate for Fulham as he shouldn't be out for too long. No information as of yet on Huddlestone's first half fall.

65mins

The West Londoners are seeing a lot more of the ball recently but it is restricted to the centre of the park, whenever they get close to the Spurs box their attacks break down, there is a real lack of understanding here from the visitors.

63mins

Poor cross into the box from Bent and the ball sails out for a throw in.

62mins

Dempsey breaks free of the Tottenham midfield and races into their half, he doesn't see the run of Zamora and the attack breaks down.

60mins

The change for Tottenham was needed who are having to build patiently with Fulham throwing 10 men behind the ball.

59mins

Campbell comes on to replace Bentley who has not looked great this afternoon to be honest.

57mins

Konchesky runs up to take a free kick, he hits it low and hard but the ball flies into the side netting!

56mins

The hosts look as though they might be making an attacking change here with Fraizer Campbell warming up.

54mins

Zamora makes a run and Danny Murphy tries to find him but the fourth offcial raises his flag and the Fulham man is pulled up for offside.

51mins

Free kick for Tottenham which Bentley lines up. He strikes it cleanly and powerfully but Schwarzer sees it all the way and holds on.

49mins

Fulham seem to be giving the ball away freely here, they just can't get the ball under control and keep hold of possession.

48mins

It's been a good start to the second half here and yet again it is the hosts who have begun the brighter.

46mins

Zamora goes down under a challenge from Vedran Corluka but the referee doesn't give the penalty the striker was looking for.

46mins

Mr Walton signals for the start of the second half and we're underway.

45mins

Half-Time: TOTTENHAM 0-0 FULHAM.

45mins

The fourth official indicates a minimum of two minutes to be added on at the end of this half.

44mins

Davies with a great ball into the box, Andrew Johnson and Zamora hoping to get on the end of it but they can't and the chance goes begging, all it needed was a touch!

42mins

Dickson Etuhu has to come on to replace Bullard whose injury has forced the Englishman off.

40mins

Jimmy Bullard looks in pain here and he might have to come off, he's definitely struggling to walk here.

38mins

Dempsey with a fantastic effort! Bobby Zamora put the ball into the box and the American turned, tried a bicycle kick and Gomes had to get up and tip the ball wide of his goal, the best moment of the half for Fulham!

36mins

Bentley with the ball in, header towards goal from Darren Bent but Schwarzer saves again, the Aussie is keeping the visitors level at the minute!

35mins

That man Modric makes some space for himself once more, a great low driven shot with his left and Schwarzer has to acrobatically turn the ball behind for a corner kick!

32mins

Konchesky gets his head up and tries to beat Gomes but in reality he is too far out and even Gomes can hold onto this one!

30mins

Modric runs at Aaron Hughes who seems unsure here, the Croatian drags the ball back onto his right foot and tries to curl one inside the right post but his shot bends agonisingly wide of Schwarzer's goal.

27mins

Modric, back to Jenas who strikes it first time... high over the bar, things are beginning to look ominous here.

25mins

Assou-Ekotto with an awful effort. Way out the defender decides to try his luck, he fires one in with his left foot but it flies wide and high.

23mins

First corner of the game swung in by Bentley, Michael Dawson gets up and tries to head towards goal but his effort sails straight into the arms of Schwarzer.

22mins

Huddlestone has been forced to come off here, his injury is obviously too painful to run off, he will be replaced by Jermaine Jenas.

20mins

Simon Davies turns and hits the ball out of play, not sure why, I think it was just a poor ball but it is the second time he has done that in a short period of time.

19mins

Paul Konchesky has to come across and put in a firm challenge on Benoit Assou-Ekotto as Spurs were looking to break down the left.

18mins

Huddlestone looks to have gone over on his ankle but after a short period of treatment the Englishman decides to try and limp his injury off.

17mins

Well that little spell has sparked the support into life and the Fulham fans are making some noise in the far corner behind the goal but it looks as though Huddlestone is hurt here...

14mins

Luka Modric and David Bentley link up well and Modric lashes a shot goalwards, it swerves in the air and causes Mark Schwarzer some trouble who has to save with his chest.

12mins

Clint Dempsey latches on to a flick on inside the Tottenham box, he smashes a volley goalwards but it is straight at Heurelho Gomes and Tottenham get away with a bit of slack defending!

10mins

Tom Huddlestone collects the ball on the edge of the box, with his back to goal turns on the ball and lets off a shot, his effort sails just wide but it was a good effort considering he couldn't see the goal!

7mins

No shots just yet but Tottenham are beginning to dominate the match in terms of territory, Didier Zokora is seeing a lot of the ball early on here.

5mins

It's been all Tottenham so far but it seems that Spurs are looking to build their attacks rather than hit Fulham early on.

3mins

Bit of a quiet start to this game, let's hope that the hangover from the Xmas dinner wears off soon and the fans and players alike wake up here.

2mins

Tottenham break away first and Dawson wins a free kick for the hosts deep inside the Fulham half.

1mins

The game gets underway at a chilly White Hart Lane, let's hope for a cracker! What no good? Okay I'll steer away from the jokes today then...

0mins

Today's referee will be Peter Walton and the young man from Northamptonshire has dished out 1 red and 30 yellow cards in 11 games this season.

0mins

Fulham will be without Brede Hangeland who up until today had played every minute of Fulham's Premier League campaign and he will be sorely missed today.

0mins

Spurs host today's game looking to avenge their defeat at the hands of Fulham last month and as they currently sit just a point above the relegation zone at the minute, three points would be a more than welcome festive present for Tottenham today.

0mins

Fulham XI: Schwarzer, Pantsil, Baird, Hughes, Konchesky, Dempsey, Murphy, Bullard, Davies, Johnson, Zamora.

0mins

Tottenham XI: Gomes, Corluka, Dawson, King, Assou-Ekotto, Lennon, Zokora, Huddlestone, Bentley, Modric, Bent.

Match Preview

In-form Fulham travel to Tottenham on Boxing Day with the home side still looking for the points that will pull them away from the relegation zone.

Tottenham fans are not entirely unaccustomed to the bottom half of the table - the club spent large parts of 2007 there - but by this time last season the club looked to have righted their wrongs and be on their way towards the top half.

Despite the improvements under Harry Redknapp, Spurs have not yet convinced the north London faithful that they are the real deal, picking up just seven points from their last six league games.

They are the Premier League's lowest home goalscorers, a fact that is made all the more frustrating by the considerable improvement of the defence - now the fifth tightest in the league at home.

Improvements at the back have been led by goalkeeper Heurelho Gomes, who has given Spurs fans a reason to forget his previously error-strewn performances, and the Brazilian spoke optimistically of his team's plans for the festive period.

"I think we can win these games," he said. "If we do and we manage to get the six points then we can climb up the table."

Spurs' attacking problems won't be helped by the bug that kept Darren Bent out of the side that lost 2-1 at Newcastle United.

The former Charlton striker may well remain on the sidelines, leaving Roman Pavlyuchenko to lead the line. Midfielders Jermaine Jenas and Giovani Dos Santos look likely to miss out, although they have been able to train and have a chance of being involved.

Fulham could be forgiven for having their eyes fixed a week ahead, with January's transfer window potentially bringing a serious exodus of key players.

Jimmy Bullard's name has been touted around as the man most likely to leave Craven Cottage but, with the London team not in a financial position to turn down good bids, several other players could leave with him.

Captain Danny Murphy has urged the club not to sell, pointing out that the current squad is: "the best we've had since I've been here and the best Fulham have had in a long time.

"There's no way we want to see any of our good players leave. I hope Jimmy can sort it out because we know what his qualities are and know he's a great asset on the pitch."


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Match Report

Tottenham manager Harry Redknapp is desperate for the January transfer window to open after his side failed to find the net once again and had to settle for a 0-0 draw against Fulham.

Redknapp may have worked wonders transforming the club following his arrival back in October, but his side are still languishing above the bottom three and have now failed to score in their last three league games at White Hart Lane.

It could have been even worse for Spurs had Andy Johnson not blown a golden chance right at the death when he was clean through on goal, but Heurelho Gomes produced a great save to earn his side a point.

Redknapp has already been linked with a move for West Ham striker Craig Bellamy and on the evidence of this display, they will need a number of new faces to ensure they pull clear of a relegation dogfight.

Fulham have now gone eight games unbeaten and Roy Hodgson must be thinking about challenging for a European spot come the end of the season.

Tottenham started the game brightly and could have opened the scoring on 26 minutes when Luka Modric showed all his class on the edge of the box.

The Croatia international superbly turned Danny Murphy and Aaron Hughes on the edge of the box and fired a left-foot which flew inches past the post.

Fulham keeper Mark Schwarzer produced a stunning save on 29 minutes to keep his side on level terms.

Benoit Assou-Ekotto burst clear into the Fulham penalty box and cut the ball back for Aaron Lennon, whose close-range shot was superbly kept out by Schwarzer diving low to his right.

From the resulting corner, Lennon crossed the ball into Ledley King whose close-range header flew just wide.

Gomes then matched Schwarzer for the save of the first half on 35 minutes when he denied Clint Dempsey.

Bobby Zamora's cross picked out the America international, who produced an spectacular overhead kick and the Tottenham keeper produced a superb one handed save to tip the ball over the bar.

The game was crying out for a goal and Fulham defender Paul Konchesky almost put his side into the lead on 57 minutes when he curled a free-kick just past the post.

Modric was clearly the dangerman for Tottenham and he had another golden chance on 64 minutes.

Assou-Ekotto's cross picked out the talented midfielder who found himself unmarked inside the box, but his close-range header flew inches wide of the post.

Fulham could have grabbed a dramatic late winner on 84 minutes when Simon Davies ball picked out Johnson, who found himself through on goal.

Johnson raced towards the Tottenham penalty area, but saw his shot superbly kept out by Gomes.

Tottenham Hotspur

Fulham

Corners

42

Fouls

711

Goal attempts

1410

Shots off target

73

Offsides

44

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