Source: Team_Talk
Controversy at Cottage as Spurs triumph
Mike Dean awarded one of the season's most controversial goals as Tottenham came from behind to end Fulham's unbeaten start with a 2-1 win.[LNB] Referee Dean allowed Tom Huddlestone's 63rd-minute winner to stand at Craven Cottage after his assistant had initially flagged William Gallas offside.[LNB]Fulham had deservedly taken the lead on the half-hour mark when Diomansy Kamara marked his first Premier League start for almost a year with his first goal for the Cottagers in even longer, but Roman Pavlyuchenko levelled almost immediately after brilliant play from Rafael van der Vaart.[LNB]However, the match will be remembered for Dean's contentious call and he and his fellow officials left the field to catcalls and chants of: "You don't know what you're doing!"[LNB]Spurs, who had come from behind in two of their previous three league games, fielded a strong line-up ahead of Wednesday's Champions League trip to Inter Milan.[LNB]The early moments of danger came through Gareth Bale down the left, the winger producing two crosses for lone frontman Pavlyuchenko, the Russian collecting the second and dragging wide from a tight angle.[LNB]But it was Fulham who should have taken the lead in the 14th minute when the unmarked Kamara glanced Simon Davies' corner wide.[LNB]Tottenham's Sandro had been impressing in central midfield on what was his full Premier League debut but the Brazilian was rightly booked for a second poor tackle in a matter of seconds in the 23rd minute.[LNB]And Fulham should have made him pay when Aaron Hughes nodded over from Danny Murphy's right-wing cross.[LNB]It was suddenly one-way traffic and Carlos Salcido fired a glorious 25-yard shot just the wrong side of the post.[LNB]The home fans screamed for a penalty when the ball appeared to strike the arm of Alan Hutton, and soon afterwards Fulham took the lead half an hour in.[LNB]Clint Dempsey was the architect, escaping the attention of surprise starter Ledley King before crossing for the unmarked Kamara to fire home.[LNB]But Tottenham levelled from the kick-off, Van der Vaart showing magnificent control in the box and chipping against the crossbar, with Pavlyuchenko converting the rebound.[LNB]The half looked set to end level but, less than three minutes before the break, Heurelho Gomes produced a stunning save to tip Kamara's 18-yard half-volley wide.[LNB]A minute later, Spurs lost limping captain King, with Sebastien Bassong coming on.[LNB]The interval also saw the withdrawal of Sandro, with Aaron Lennon introduced down the right and Luka Modric moved inside.[LNB]After the resumption Lennon made almost an immediate impact, his super cross finding Van der Vaart, whose close-range volley was kept out by the foot of Mark Schwarzer.[LNB]Fulham captain Murphy - at the centre of a media storm in the build-up to today's game - was replaced seven minutes into the half by Stephen Kelly.[LNB]Spurs continued to struggle aerially and Chris Baird forced another acrobatic Gomes save with a header from Davies' corner.[LNB]Then came the defining moment of the match, Huddlestone rifling a 25-yard shot through a crowd of players and into the corner of the net.[LNB]The fit-again Gallas was in an offside position when the ball was hit and the assistant referee raised his flag.[LNB]But after consulting with Dean, the officials appeared to decide Gallas had made no contact and the goal was given.[LNB]However, it could be argued the Spurs defender was interfering with play by actively trying to deflect the ball and the Fulham fans were understandably livid.[LNB]Van der Vaart then scuffed a volley wide before Pavlyuchenko was replaced by Peter Crouch for the final 20 minutes.[LNB]Lennon, who had made a real impact, blazed over from 18 yards and Kamara was close to improvising a flicked finish past Gomes before Mousa Dembele was withdrawn for Zoltan Gera.[LNB]Salcido failed to pounce on a collision between Gomes and Hutton when he sliced horribly wide from a difficult angle 11 minutes from time.[LNB]But the full-back made some amends moments later with a brilliant challenge to deflect Van der Vaart's close-range finish over.[LNB]Schwarzer got fingertips to Hutton's low finish and Crouch was penalised when trying to loop a header over the Fulham goalkeeper.[LNB]Kamara blazed over from 15 yards as the end-to-end action continued, with Fulham immediately replacing Jonathan Greening with Eddie Johnson.[LNB]The home side poured forward in the closing moments - and Dempsey was booked for dissent - but they were unable to find the goal that would have preserved their unbeaten record.
