Fulham 1 - 0 Tottenham
A stoppage-time winner by Fulham defender Carlos Bocanegra exposed the shortcomings at the heart of Tottenham's ambition to be a top four side in the Barclays Premiership at the end of the season.
Spurs manager Martin Jol's decision to keep faith with Poland international Grzegorz Rasiak and leave England striker Jermain Defoe on the bench during such a critical phase of the season has cost Spurs the momentum they enjoyed prior to the turn of the year.
His policy is even more unfathomable when you consider they lost the services of Egypt striker Mido for much of January because of his international commitments in the African Nations Cup.
The result tonight was a deserved victory for a determined Fulham side, the winner arriving in the first minute of time added on.
Bocanegra fended off Stephen Kelly to head home Simon Elliott's free-kick as Tottenham failed to recover from the dismissal of defender Michael Dawson for a second bookable offence in the second half.
Defoe, a striker Jol is convinced will be part of England's World Cup campaign in Germany this summer, was only introduced into the action in the last 20 minutes - far too late to make any real impact.
The Spurs fans, clearly as baffled as Defoe must be by Jol's team selections, raised ironic cheers every time the poor Rasiak managed to successfully control the ball.
Jol insists that he prefers either Keane or Defoe to play off a big target man but Rasiak was so lacking in confidence that the former West Ham striker would have made a much more telling contribution from the start of the game.
Once again Spurs will claim they are in a transitional stage with Michael Brown becoming the latest player to the leave the club.
Ironically, he was paraded by new club Fulham before the start of their clash against his old pals.
It was Brown's former colleagues who almost took the lead in the fifth minute when Robbie Keane fed his Republic of Ireland colleague Andy Reid on the edge of the penalty area only for the Irishman to see his first time effort miss the target by inches.
In the 11th minute, Rasiak was booked for a lunging tackle on Sylvain Legwinski and Fulham almost punished the visitors from the resultant free-kick when England goalkeeper Paul
Robinson had to be at his best to stop Brian McBride's effort from creeping into the corner of the net.
Robinson pulled off another stunning save in the 33rd minute to deny McBride after the United States international unleashed a right-foot volley towards the top corner.
The game took up a familiar pattern at the start of the second half with neither side capable of finding a way to break the deadlock.
Spurs defender Dawson was booked for catching McBride with an elbow as the pair went for the ball in the middle of the pitch and six minutes later Heidar Helguson found his way into Howard Webb's notebook for a late challenge on the Spurs man.
In the 64th minute, Fulham survived a creditable penalty appeal when Luis Boa Morte hauled down Jermaine Jenas inside the area but referee Webb ignored the protests from the Spurs players and awarded a corner instead.
Lennon was beginning to cause the Fulham defence all kinds of problems on the left flank but, despite numerous crosses into the danger area, Spurs could not unlock the home defence.
In the 69th minute to a rousing cheer, Rasiak was finally replaced by Defoe. But, before he had a chance to make an impact, Spurs were reduced to 10 men when defender Dawson was sent off for a second bookable offence after pulling back Helguson.
Fulham almost punished Spurs from the free-kick when Robinson produced another superb save to deny McBride once more.
Defoe almost produced a matchwinner out of nothing when Elliott's loose ball was seized upon by the England striker and his 20-yard drive was grabbed at the second attempt by Antti Niemi.
But it all fell apart when Bocanegra rose to plant a firm header beyond Robinson to the delight of the home faithful and give Jol more thinking to do.
Spurs coach Martin Jol claimed referee Howard Webb was instrumental in costing his side a share of the spoils at Craven Cottage.
Jol said: 'With Dawson on the pitch it would never have happened. We had to change the organisation and with Dawson there would have been no problem.
'They tried to outmuscle us up front but I don't think that is possible with Ledley King and Michael and the first challenge Dawson made got him booked. That was very disappointing.
'The second foul was probably a booking, the first one wasn't. Heidar Helguson came in maybe seven or eight times with dangerous challenges from the side.
'Dawson is a very fair player and will never use his arms or his elbows. The sending off was harsh and the turning point. We miss him for two games now and we had to miss him for the last 20 minutes of this one.'
Jol added: 'I thought we played well in the second half. It was very even in the first although I think we looked a bit more dangerous. The game had a bit of a South American atmosphere with players asking for bookings.
'I don't think it is an English thing but I saw it a couple of times tonight. We deserved more than we got out of the game and the referee was very influential.'
Jol played down a verbal altercation in the closing stages of the game when Fulham captain Luis Boa Morte tried to grab the ball from Tottenham's assistant coach Chris Hughton when it went out of play.
'He gave my assistant Chris Hughton a bit of bad air but he didn't spit,' Jol added.
Fulham manager Chris Coleman was delighted to get the three points and he defended his players, particularly Helguson, following Jol's comments.
'Spurs showed their class in the second half,' admitted Coleman. 'But when we got our chances Paul Robinson in their goal made a couple of great saves.
'When Dawson was sent off we tried to get the ball forward too early I felt. Spurs looked the more dangerous in the last 15 minutes but I'm delighted for Bocanegra and that we got the three points. It is also another clean sheet at home.
'If you look at Helguson he's not the biggest of guys. Referees and people think he's fouling all the time. But he gets so much height when he leaps that a lot of time he gives away a free-kick when it's not a free-kick really.'
Coleman also had some sympathy with Jol over Dawson's first yellow card when he challenged McBride and was penalised for leading with his elbow.
Coleman added: 'The second foul was a definite booking but I'm not sure about the first. But it's a London derby and I prefer to win the game like we did. It's nice to come off the pitch after a win like that.'
Spurs manager Martin Jol's decision to keep faith with Poland international Grzegorz Rasiak and leave England striker Jermain Defoe on the bench during such a critical phase of the season has cost Spurs the momentum they enjoyed prior to the turn of the year.
His policy is even more unfathomable when you consider they lost the services of Egypt striker Mido for much of January because of his international commitments in the African Nations Cup.
The result tonight was a deserved victory for a determined Fulham side, the winner arriving in the first minute of time added on.
Bocanegra fended off Stephen Kelly to head home Simon Elliott's free-kick as Tottenham failed to recover from the dismissal of defender Michael Dawson for a second bookable offence in the second half.
Defoe, a striker Jol is convinced will be part of England's World Cup campaign in Germany this summer, was only introduced into the action in the last 20 minutes - far too late to make any real impact.
The Spurs fans, clearly as baffled as Defoe must be by Jol's team selections, raised ironic cheers every time the poor Rasiak managed to successfully control the ball.
Jol insists that he prefers either Keane or Defoe to play off a big target man but Rasiak was so lacking in confidence that the former West Ham striker would have made a much more telling contribution from the start of the game.
Once again Spurs will claim they are in a transitional stage with Michael Brown becoming the latest player to the leave the club.
Ironically, he was paraded by new club Fulham before the start of their clash against his old pals.
It was Brown's former colleagues who almost took the lead in the fifth minute when Robbie Keane fed his Republic of Ireland colleague Andy Reid on the edge of the penalty area only for the Irishman to see his first time effort miss the target by inches.
In the 11th minute, Rasiak was booked for a lunging tackle on Sylvain Legwinski and Fulham almost punished the visitors from the resultant free-kick when England goalkeeper Paul
Robinson had to be at his best to stop Brian McBride's effort from creeping into the corner of the net.
Robinson pulled off another stunning save in the 33rd minute to deny McBride after the United States international unleashed a right-foot volley towards the top corner.
The game took up a familiar pattern at the start of the second half with neither side capable of finding a way to break the deadlock.
Spurs defender Dawson was booked for catching McBride with an elbow as the pair went for the ball in the middle of the pitch and six minutes later Heidar Helguson found his way into Howard Webb's notebook for a late challenge on the Spurs man.
In the 64th minute, Fulham survived a creditable penalty appeal when Luis Boa Morte hauled down Jermaine Jenas inside the area but referee Webb ignored the protests from the Spurs players and awarded a corner instead.
Lennon was beginning to cause the Fulham defence all kinds of problems on the left flank but, despite numerous crosses into the danger area, Spurs could not unlock the home defence.
In the 69th minute to a rousing cheer, Rasiak was finally replaced by Defoe. But, before he had a chance to make an impact, Spurs were reduced to 10 men when defender Dawson was sent off for a second bookable offence after pulling back Helguson.
Fulham almost punished Spurs from the free-kick when Robinson produced another superb save to deny McBride once more.
Defoe almost produced a matchwinner out of nothing when Elliott's loose ball was seized upon by the England striker and his 20-yard drive was grabbed at the second attempt by Antti Niemi.
But it all fell apart when Bocanegra rose to plant a firm header beyond Robinson to the delight of the home faithful and give Jol more thinking to do.
Spurs coach Martin Jol claimed referee Howard Webb was instrumental in costing his side a share of the spoils at Craven Cottage.
Jol said: 'With Dawson on the pitch it would never have happened. We had to change the organisation and with Dawson there would have been no problem.
'They tried to outmuscle us up front but I don't think that is possible with Ledley King and Michael and the first challenge Dawson made got him booked. That was very disappointing.
'The second foul was probably a booking, the first one wasn't. Heidar Helguson came in maybe seven or eight times with dangerous challenges from the side.
'Dawson is a very fair player and will never use his arms or his elbows. The sending off was harsh and the turning point. We miss him for two games now and we had to miss him for the last 20 minutes of this one.'
Jol added: 'I thought we played well in the second half. It was very even in the first although I think we looked a bit more dangerous. The game had a bit of a South American atmosphere with players asking for bookings.
'I don't think it is an English thing but I saw it a couple of times tonight. We deserved more than we got out of the game and the referee was very influential.'
Jol played down a verbal altercation in the closing stages of the game when Fulham captain Luis Boa Morte tried to grab the ball from Tottenham's assistant coach Chris Hughton when it went out of play.
'He gave my assistant Chris Hughton a bit of bad air but he didn't spit,' Jol added.
Fulham manager Chris Coleman was delighted to get the three points and he defended his players, particularly Helguson, following Jol's comments.
'Spurs showed their class in the second half,' admitted Coleman. 'But when we got our chances Paul Robinson in their goal made a couple of great saves.
'When Dawson was sent off we tried to get the ball forward too early I felt. Spurs looked the more dangerous in the last 15 minutes but I'm delighted for Bocanegra and that we got the three points. It is also another clean sheet at home.
'If you look at Helguson he's not the biggest of guys. Referees and people think he's fouling all the time. But he gets so much height when he leaps that a lot of time he gives away a free-kick when it's not a free-kick really.'
Coleman also had some sympathy with Jol over Dawson's first yellow card when he challenged McBride and was penalised for leading with his elbow.
Coleman added: 'The second foul was a definite booking but I'm not sure about the first. But it's a London derby and I prefer to win the game like we did. It's nice to come off the pitch after a win like that.'
posted by dgarden at 12:49 pm
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