Fulham (Away) 18.02.2007

It is not too far for Tottenham to travel, but there is no distance too near which has seen Spurs stumble to another away defeat.  Fulham ceded Spurs one of their few away points this season in the Premier League, so what will this game bring ?

The introduction of Vincenzo Montella has added a potency to their attack which had preciously been missing and with our very own Wayne Routledge ripping up the touchline, goals which had not been coming for the team have started to flow.  Brian McBride is one of those players who usually scores against Spurs and it will take all of Michael Dawson’s ability to keep him shackled, with Anthony Gardner replacing the still injured Ledley King, his concentration will need to be focused on the job in hand for the full 90 minutes.

Michael Brown will pick up the gauntlet and players like Tainio and Zokora will need to get involved in a positive way to ensure that the fight in that area of the pitch is won.  Losing the midfield will leave our front two – Mido and Keane – isolated and a big gap between the defence and the forwards will develop to give a big area for the Cottagers to play in.  Malbranque will be a target for both crowd and opponents alike, so he will need to be disciplined to make sure any offender on him is.  I am not sure if transfer window signing Simon Davies is cup-tied, but his effort will need to be equalled by the Spurs midfielders.

Moritz Volz pushes forward from the back and Zat Knight is dangerous from set pieces, so Gardner’s use of his height will need to match his desire to win headers.  Queudrue likewise is useful at dead ball situations, either as taker or target and defenders like Ian Pearce and Carlos Bocanegra can also move forward to add an aerial threat from the back.

Clint Dempsey will be a new face to face, coming in from the USA in the transfer window and the short, but sturdy Heidur Helguson will be hard to knock off the ball.

Spurs will be missing Jenas’ running in midfield and Defoe’s threat in attack through suspension, but the players who come in should be good enough to pose Fulham problems.  Having said that I can’t imagine Spurs actually winning away, but it may be a case of déjà vu with the score ending up as …

PREDICTION : –  Fulham  1   Tottenham  1

For more information on the opponents and their history, including full result history of matches between the two teams, click here.

The game started too frenetically, with Fulham once more targeting Steed Malbranque for the physical treatment.  Radzinski early shot was blocked for a corner, but when the ball was played back to Paul Robinson in the fifth minute, little did we foresee that the goal that would shape the game would come.  Route One was taken, with Robbo’s kick, Mido’s flick and Robbie made the Cottagers sick with a thumping volley that left Lastuvka helpless to stop the fierce shot.  It was just the start that Tottenham needed.

From that point on they went on to dictate the game and even though Fulham had some spells of possession and ENO had to make three good saves, the team were never really in any danger of going out of the cup.  The long diagonal ball to match a taller forward up against YP Lee tried to put the ball into the danger area for someone to run onto, but the Korean did well and when he didn’t win the ball, colleagues were in the middle to clear.

Lennon proved to be a useful out ball for Spurs, with his nimble feet taking him away from Diop and Queudrue before they clattered him to the floor and got yellow cards for their trouble.  At the other end, McBride managed to turn onto a dropping ball and his deflected shot was palmed over the top by Robinson.  One of the best chances for Fulham was Spurs made.  Mido played a high back-pass from near the halfway line and it left Robbo with no chance to do much with, other than hack into touch.  From the long throw by Simon Davies, Mido, back defending, managed to head towards goal and the Spurs goalie had to dive low to get a hand to it and keep it out.  He showed his displeasure with the Egyptian in no uncertain terms !!  When he had returned to where Robinson suggested he should go, he played a 1-2 with Lee and with two players in the box, he decided to shoot powerfully, but too high, at the near top corner of the goal.

Fulham obviously got a strong talking to at the break, with a new urgency about them when they started the second half.  Tainio did well to get his head to a loose ball in the area, but Knight tried an overhead kick at the same time and got the Finn in the shoulder with his boot.  Robbo was busier in the second half, as he caught a McBride effort from long range, pushed a shot from Volz over the top, beat out a bouncing volley by Diop, mis-punched a corner to the far post, but Tainio headed over his own bar to deny the home side a scoring opportunity.

Paul then turned provider, when he took a corner and played a flat kick upfield to Aaron Lennon, who got in a shot that Lastuvka pushed aside for a corner at the other end.  With Dawson and Gardner looking secure in the middle of defence, Spurs looked like they could absorb the pressure coming through the Fulham attack even though it was switched to bring Montella and John into the action.

With 67 minutes on the clock, Gardner launched a free-kick forward and Mido flicked it on once more, leaving Keane to smash another volley even harder past the Fulham keeper.  It was deja vu all over again !!

When Mido was replaced by Berbatov in the 73rd minute, it looked as though Martin Jol was happy that the two goal cushion would be enough, relying on the team’s attacking ability rather than trying to sit back and defend the two goal lead.  Within five minutes, he was proved right.  Zokora did what he does best; picking the ball up in his own half and racing forward, leaving players in his wake and then releasing Berba on the left.  He cut inside Knight to strike a shot that caught a deflection, but hit the bottom of the right hand post.  It bounced back across goal to where Dimitar had reacted quickest and he looked lazy as he swung a left foot at it to put it past the Czech goalie for goal number three.

The way Spurs were going at Fulham now it was a question of how many, as Lastuvka took Lennon’s legs as he went past him wide near the dead ball line, without getting a penalty given.  Then Tainio put Keane through on the keeper to complete his hat-trick, but with time to think about it, Robbie allowed the goalie to close him down and the chance was lost.  It was Berbatov who got the fourth to wrap things up, when he took a flick from Keane and cheekily lofted a lob over the keeper from around the penalty area with nobody around him, but being definitely onside.

The scoring might have finished, but when Robbie chased Montella in midfield and hassled him, the Italian swung round with an elbow into Keane’s cheek.  Robbie’s response was to ask the Roma man to see him outside, but the ref sent him on his way before any more fisticuffs could arise.  Keane got a yellow for his (innocent) part in the incident.

It was a comprehensive win and one which begs the question why Tottenham could not play like this away from home more often.  Maybe the Cups are the competitions for Tottenham this season and with the big three still in the FA Cup, if we can avoid them in tomorrow’s draw, we might be OK for a semi-final berth at least.

Kirk Hammerton

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