Tottenham Hotspur 5 - 1 Fulham

rss feed for news items | England News

Wednesday Dec 26 2007 01:00

Robbie Keane and Tom Huddlestone were at the double as Tottenham brushed aside Fulham in convincing fashion.

The 5-1 defeat means Fulham have now gone 15 months, three managers and 26 away games since a victory on the road.

Keane fired Spurs ahead midway through the first half and Huddlestone got his first, two days before his 21st birthday on the stroke of half-time.Clint Dempsey gave Fulham a chance with his goal but Keane, Huddlestone and Jermain Defoe made sure of the thrashing in the final 20 minutes.

Tottenham were boosted by the return to form of skipper Ledley King who was making his first start in a Spurs shirt since May.

Three former Spurs players lined up for Fulham - Simon Davies, Paul Konchesky and Danny Murphy - while Steed Malbranque used to ply his trade at Craven Cottage.

There was a flat start to the game with both sides struggling to create any real chances in front of goal.

Fulham looked nervous as they went in search of their first win on the road in 2007, but created the first chance on goal on six minutes.Alexei Smertin and Konchesky linked well and played the ball to American Dempsey who shot from 25 yards over the bar of Paul Robinson's goal.

For all of Spurs' pressure they failed to create any clear-cut chances until the 24th minute when Malbranque crossed for Dimitar Berbatov whose header had Fulham keeper Antti Niemi at full stretch to keep it out.

But two minutes later the hosts eventually took the lead. Huddlestone crossed for Pascal Chimbonda who headed the ball into the path of Malbranque. His shot cannoned off the post and into the path of Keane who tapped the ball into an empty net.

The goal was no more than Spurs deserved and they continued to pile on the pressure. Malbranque went close when he headed a Keane cross but it was well-saved by Niemi.

They doubled their lead on the stroke of half-time when Malbranque crossed for Berbatov who laid the ball back to Huddlestone who shot from 30 yards through a host of Fulham bodies and past a motionless Niemi.

Fulham were handed a lifeline when Dempsey bundled the ball home from six yards past Robinson on the hour mark, but a minute later Keane went to the other end to tap-in a Berbatov header from Jamie O'Hara's corner.

The result was wrapped up in the 70th minute when Huddlestone grabbed his second in spectacular fashion. Aaron Lennon played in the England Under-21 international and he volleyed from the edge of the box into the far corner of the net.

Defoe came off the bench to get the fifth goal in the 90th minute to compound Fulham's misery.

To make things even worse for Fulham they had Moritz Volz sent off at the death for his second bookable offence.

The result continues Spurs' revival under Juande Ramos and was the perfect reply to their derby day defeat to Arsenal.

Fulham are a club in freefall though, no manager, no win since the beginning of November and on this performance no chance of being a Premier League club next season.

  • 90
    FT:Tottenham 5-1 Fulham: What a performance from Spurs who put Fulham to the sword with a mixture of superb movement and passing capped by quality finishing.
  • 89
    GOAL:Tottenham 5-1 Fulham: (89mins) Jermaine Defoe slides the ball into an empty net after some superb interplay between himself and Tom Huddlestone and he certainly enjoyed scoring that one.
  • 87
    And a sour end to the game as Volz receives his second yellow card after another poor challenge this time on Malbranque.
  • 85
    This game is drifting towards a close now with both sides seemingly happy to conserve their energy for the rest of the festive schedule.
  • 83
    Spurs fans are livid as Fulham's Davies is booked but Lennon had collected the loose ball and had a three on two is the hosts favour but the referee called it back.
  • 80
    Smertin is booked for scything down Aaron Lennon as he got into his stride.
  • 78
    Spurs seem very happy with their days work and they are beginning to attack when they feel they want to and Fulham seem to given up any hope of getting back in it since that fourth goal.
  • 75
    Defoe is working his socks off already and the Fulham centre backs might have been expecting a little break with Berbatov and Keane off but Defoe does not seem finished with this yet.
  • 72
    Spurs now make their final change as Ledley King exits to a standing ovation with Adel Taarabt coming on in his place, meaning Huddlestone will slip into the back four.
  • 70
    GOAL:Tottenham 4-1 Fulham: (70mins) Huddlestone with another wonderful long range effort as he curls the ball beyond the dive of Niemi from 25 yards to clinch the points and also show his manager what he is made of.
  • 68
    Moritz Volz is booked for a poorly timed challenge on Lennon.
  • 66
    Two goal hero Robbie Keane comes off and Jermaine Defoe - who is desperate to impress - is on to try and prove a point.
  • 65
    And for Fulham David Healy is on up front as he replaces a defender in Aaron Hughes.
  • 65
    Dimitar Berbatov looks disappointed - as ever - as he is brought off with Kevin Prince Boateng replacing the Bulgarian.
  • 63
    GOAL:Tottenham 3-1 Fulham: (63mins) Almost immediately Keane bundles the ball over the line after Berbatov's flick on from O'Hara's dangerous corner.
  • 61
    GOAL:Tottenham 2-1 Fulham: (61mins) Bouazza whips a ball in that Robinson makes a mess of and Dempsey slides in to stab it home
  • 58
    And at the other end Bouazza is proving a real handful and he puts in a another good cross that Davies rises to meet but he heads the ball into the hands of a relieved Robinson.
  • 57
    Robbie Keane latches onto a flick on from Berbatov and gets half a yard on aaron Hughes but it is fired straight at Niemi who saves comfortably.
  • 54
    Spurs are back in control now after a sluggish start to the second period with Huddlestone and the quiet O'Hara starting to work the ball around the midfield.
  • 51
    For almost the first time in the game Ledley King is forced into a sprint as he shepherds the ball out of play under pressure from Dempsey.
  • 48
    Immediate impact from the former Watford man as he whips in a dangerous cross from the left and Lee misses it and Dempsey almost sneaks in behind the Korean but it skids just past the American.
  • 46
    The second half is underway and it will be interesting to see whether Fulham will no show more ambition with the direct Bouazza on the field.
  • 46
    Chris Baird and Seol Ki-Hyeon have gone off at the break with Hameur Bouazza and Moritz Volz coming on.
  • 45
    HT:Tottenham 2-0 Fulham: A confident 1st half from Spurs and a tidy close range finish from Keane and a thunderbolt from Huddlestone mean they have the lead.
  • 45
    GOAL:Tottenham 2-0 Fulham: (45mins) A sweet strike from Huddlestone from the edge of the box after good approach play from Berbatov.
  • 44
    And on the break Keane can't find room for a shot but feeds Lennon with a clever backheel but the winger only finds Niemi.
  • 43
    Spurs make a bit of a hash of clearing a corner and Davies has two chances to let fly from the edge of the box but both times he is blocked by Kaboul.
  • 40
    Lee Young-Pyo is in the Christmas spirit as he hits a comical effort from all of 25 yards that serves only to unite the fans in their astonishment at how far it actually managed to miss by.
  • 38
    Fulham are really struggling to create any attacking momentum with Kamara working hard up front but looking isolated at times and he is being crowded out of possession before support arrives.
  • 35
    Robinson smashes a long ball upfield and Chimbonda is rather strangely in on the back four but he makes the wrong choice and rolls the ball too far for Lennon while Berbatov and Keane were free to his left.
  • 33
    Lennon's pace is giving Konchesky a few problems down Fulham's left hand side but for the moment he is doing well to stop the wide man from having a great impact.
  • 30
    That goal has given Spurs a real belief in their ability and Lennon is almost in behind to make it 2-0 but Konchesky clears well with a sliding interception.
  • 27
    GOAL:Tottenham 1-0 Fulham: (27mins) Malbranque's half volley hits the post but Robbie Keane is there to poke the ball over the line from inside the 6-yard box.
  • 25
    Fulham are sitting back a little at the moment and are unable to keep possession of the ball which is playing into Spurs' hands and Berbatov has a half chance that he skies over the bar.
  • 22
    Aaron Lennon uses his pace superbly to get beyond Konchesky and as his cross is headed out, Pascal Chimbonda arrives but can't keep his half volley down.
  • 21
    Chris Baird picks up the first caution for pulling back Steed Malbranque as the Frenchman drove towards the area.
  • 20
    That has got the crowd back involved because they had gone a little quiet as Fulham enjoyed some possession but everything still looks a little flat and there is a lack of urgency and creativity from the home side.
  • 17
    Finally some real attacking verve from Spurs as Malbranque cuts in in trademark fashion from the left hand side and forces a diving save from Niemi at the expense of a corner.
  • 14
    Smertin and Murphy are starting to see some of the ball in the middle of the park and they are actually being able to control the tempo, which is silencing the Spurs fans.
  • 11
    Antti Niemi looks pretty comfortable so far with Spurs unable to really force any great penetration into his box and he is, as yet, untroubled.
  • 8
    However Fulham finally get their foot on the ball and it ends up with Dempsey who hits a snap shot that rises a fraction over the top with Robinson a little unsure.
  • 7
    Spurs are comfortably on top and enjoying plenty of possession in the opening stages but the Fulham midfield are working hard and there is very little room to work in.
  • 5
    The visitors have begun with Diomansy Kamara on his own upfront as they attempt to limit the space available to the Spurs players and they are hounding around the feet of O'Hara, Huddlestone and Berbatov in particular.
  • 2
    A nervy start from Fulham as they continuously pump the ball away from their penalty area but only straight back to the advancing Spurs players.
  • 0
    Andre Marriner is today's match official and he gets the festivities underway at White Hart Lane as both sides look to add much needed points to their totals.
  • 0
    Fulham: Niemi, Baird, Hughes, Bocanegra, Konchesky, Ki-Hyeon, Smertin, Davies, Murphy, Kamara, Dempsey
  • 0
    Tottenham: Robinson, Chimbonda, Kaboul, King, Lee, Lennon, O'Hara, Huddlestone, Malbranque, Berbatov, Keane
  • 0
    Fulham are still under the temporary charge of Ray Lewington and he will be hoping that the late goal from Clint Dempsey on Saturday will act as a springboard to an up turn in their fortunes.
  • 0
    Tottenham boss Juande Ramos gives a very welcome return to arguably his side's best defender as Ledley King returns from a seven month absence.
  • 0
    Welcome to White Hart Lane where an improving Spurs team host a Fulham side who are still in a state of shock after the sacking of Lawrie Sanchez on Friday.

Statistics

Tottenham Hotspur
Shots on target 8
Shots off target 3
Shots off bar/post 1
Fouls 10
Offsides 4
Corners 3

Fulham
Shots on target 4
Shots off target 5
Shots off bar/post 0
Fouls 17
Offsides 0
Corners 5

See Live Commentary