FA Cup: Fulham 0 Spurs 4
Two stunning volleys from Robbie Keane sent Tottenham into the quarter-final of the FA Cup and eased any pressure that was on boss Martin Jol.
Keane struck early on to stun Fulham, then doubled the lead with 22 minutes remaining, profiting both times from flick-ons by strike partner Mido.
Dimitar Berbatov then came off the bench to seal Spurs' first win at Craven Cottage for nearly five years with two late strikes.
It ended a run of three consecutive defeats but also was their first win over a top-flight team since Boxing Day, a sequence which had fans questioning Jol's tactics and selections.
However, they are also in the last 16 of the UEFA Cup and, with their rich history in the FA Cup, fans were singing about a return to Wembley this season.
Fulham's misery was compounded in stoppage-time when substitute Vincenzo Montella was dismissed for a clash with Keane.
The clash had all the intensity expected of a London derby, with Papa Bouba Diop and Didier Zokora renewing an African rivalry by throwing themselves into challenges in central midfield.
But the game had not established a pattern when Spurs stormed ahead in the sixth minute.
For all of their footballing traditions, Keane's strike was route-one simplicity.
There was a hint of offside when Paul Robinson punted the ball out of defence and Mido flicked on, but Keane timed his own run to perfection and raced beyond Zat Knight to smash his volley beyond Jan Lastuvka.
It was Keane's eighth of the season for Spurs, two of which came in the previous two rounds.
The early strike paved the way for classic cup football, with wholehearted challenges dominating the midfield.
Diop, though, crossed the line and was cautioned for sending Aaron Lennon into the advertising hoardings.
Fulham have an unhappy history with Mark Halsey but there were no complaints with the referee's decision on this occasion.
Lennon looked threatening with his pace, chasing one lost cause the width of the pitch. He danced around Franck Queudrue on the half-hour mark and the French full-back earned a yellow card for tripping the winger.
But the hosts were building pressure of their own and Robinson was forced to palm over from Brian McBride's shot on the turn, a save even more impressive as the effort took a touch off Anthony Gardner.
Gardner himself was the next to get cautioned, hauling down Heidar Helguson to stop a counter-attack from the hosts.
Chris Coleman's men were almost given a helping hand in the 37th minute as they searched for an equaliser.
Mido had given Robinson a tricky backpass, which was sliced into the stands, then the striker nearly headed into his own goal only for the England goalkeeper to palm away his team-mate's bizarre attempt at a clearance.
Robinson, under a little pressure with his form this season, predictably told Mido what he thought.
The Egypt striker, restored to the starting line-up at the expense of Berbatov, has recently discussed his confidence in scoring in every game he plays in, but this was not what he had in mind.
At the other end, he then flashed wide from a tight angle and held up kick-off in the second half by encroaching.
Robinson was forced into saves early in the second half, from McBride and Helguson, but neither were difficult compared to his earlier stop.
Fulham had a tame penalty shout when Gardner challenged McBride in the area, but Halsey waved play on, then Robinson saved from a long-range Diop effort in the 59th minute.
Montella and Collins John were brought on for the final 28 minutes, with Coleman taking off Helguson and McBride, the two strikers he started with. Clint Dempsey was then brought on for Tomasz Radzinski.
Robinson produced a superb save to deny Moritz Volz with a drive, while John, in his first appearance since New Year's Day, volleyed over after racing through on goal.
But Berbatov was brought off the bench for Mido and sealed the win in the 77th minute, firing against the post before slotting in the rebound.
The Bulgaria striker then lobbed in with a minute remaining after Keane had flicked the ball through to him.
A miserable day for the hosts was complete in injury-time when Montella was given a red card after clashing with Keane.
Jol evokes Spurs sprit of '91 Martin Jol wants Tottenham to follow in the footsteps of the club's 1991 heroes by winning the FA Cup - even if their league form dips.
'It will be very important for us to do something special this year,' he said. 'They had a similar year in 1991 under Terry Venables, they only had three wins in the last 25 games but they won the FA Cup. If we can do that it would be a dream.'
He added: 'At Spurs it is different. If you go out at the semi-final (stage) of an FA Cup or UEFA Cup they will be disappointed but it is important for us to compete in these competitions.'
Keane opened the scoring in the sixth minute, latching on to a Mido flick before firing a volley past Jan Lastuvka.
He doubled the lead with 22 minutes left with a carbon copy of his first, maintaining his record of scoring in every round of the competition.
'A bit simple but that is how you can score goals as well,' said Jol.
Jol was delighted with his team matching Fulham physically, adding: 'They have very physical players but we did very well and defended well.
'We lost the initiative in the second half but luckily enough we got the second goal.'
He added: 'You can have all the qualities in the world but you have to compete against these types of sides.'
However, Fulham also had their chances and Paul Robinson was forced to save spectacularly from Brian McBride and Moritz Volz as well as when Mido almost put through his own goal.
'He tells the other players all the time that he wants a clean sheet,' Jol added. 'Everyone saw he is a very good goalkeeper.'
Fulham boss Chris Coleman described the defeat as 'unacceptable'.
Despite previous controversy with referee Mark Halsey, Coleman had no complaints with Vincenzo Montella's sending off for a clash with Keane in the dying moments of the match.
'Vincenzo raised his elbow and swung out, you can't raise your elbow,' said Coleman. 'He's caught Robbie Keane in the mush. It was frustration.'
Coleman added: 'We lost it through poor defending, it wasn't like we didn't create a chance.
'You can't defend like that against a team like Spurs with Keane, Mido and Berbatov.
'With the first goal our positioning was terrible, the second was identical. We were naove and nervous.'
Fulham are in position to challenge for a top-half finish but could also be dragged into a relegation battle, which Coleman is aware of.
He added: 'Luckily we've got 32 points, 12 away from the bottom three but if we defend like that there'll be a relegation battle.'
Keane struck early on to stun Fulham, then doubled the lead with 22 minutes remaining, profiting both times from flick-ons by strike partner Mido.
Dimitar Berbatov then came off the bench to seal Spurs' first win at Craven Cottage for nearly five years with two late strikes.
It ended a run of three consecutive defeats but also was their first win over a top-flight team since Boxing Day, a sequence which had fans questioning Jol's tactics and selections.
However, they are also in the last 16 of the UEFA Cup and, with their rich history in the FA Cup, fans were singing about a return to Wembley this season.
Fulham's misery was compounded in stoppage-time when substitute Vincenzo Montella was dismissed for a clash with Keane.
The clash had all the intensity expected of a London derby, with Papa Bouba Diop and Didier Zokora renewing an African rivalry by throwing themselves into challenges in central midfield.
But the game had not established a pattern when Spurs stormed ahead in the sixth minute.
For all of their footballing traditions, Keane's strike was route-one simplicity.
There was a hint of offside when Paul Robinson punted the ball out of defence and Mido flicked on, but Keane timed his own run to perfection and raced beyond Zat Knight to smash his volley beyond Jan Lastuvka.
It was Keane's eighth of the season for Spurs, two of which came in the previous two rounds.
The early strike paved the way for classic cup football, with wholehearted challenges dominating the midfield.
Diop, though, crossed the line and was cautioned for sending Aaron Lennon into the advertising hoardings.
Fulham have an unhappy history with Mark Halsey but there were no complaints with the referee's decision on this occasion.
Lennon looked threatening with his pace, chasing one lost cause the width of the pitch. He danced around Franck Queudrue on the half-hour mark and the French full-back earned a yellow card for tripping the winger.
But the hosts were building pressure of their own and Robinson was forced to palm over from Brian McBride's shot on the turn, a save even more impressive as the effort took a touch off Anthony Gardner.
Gardner himself was the next to get cautioned, hauling down Heidar Helguson to stop a counter-attack from the hosts.
Chris Coleman's men were almost given a helping hand in the 37th minute as they searched for an equaliser.
Mido had given Robinson a tricky backpass, which was sliced into the stands, then the striker nearly headed into his own goal only for the England goalkeeper to palm away his team-mate's bizarre attempt at a clearance.
Robinson, under a little pressure with his form this season, predictably told Mido what he thought.
The Egypt striker, restored to the starting line-up at the expense of Berbatov, has recently discussed his confidence in scoring in every game he plays in, but this was not what he had in mind.
At the other end, he then flashed wide from a tight angle and held up kick-off in the second half by encroaching.
Robinson was forced into saves early in the second half, from McBride and Helguson, but neither were difficult compared to his earlier stop.
Fulham had a tame penalty shout when Gardner challenged McBride in the area, but Halsey waved play on, then Robinson saved from a long-range Diop effort in the 59th minute.
Montella and Collins John were brought on for the final 28 minutes, with Coleman taking off Helguson and McBride, the two strikers he started with. Clint Dempsey was then brought on for Tomasz Radzinski.
Robinson produced a superb save to deny Moritz Volz with a drive, while John, in his first appearance since New Year's Day, volleyed over after racing through on goal.
But Berbatov was brought off the bench for Mido and sealed the win in the 77th minute, firing against the post before slotting in the rebound.
The Bulgaria striker then lobbed in with a minute remaining after Keane had flicked the ball through to him.
A miserable day for the hosts was complete in injury-time when Montella was given a red card after clashing with Keane.
Jol evokes Spurs sprit of '91 Martin Jol wants Tottenham to follow in the footsteps of the club's 1991 heroes by winning the FA Cup - even if their league form dips.
'It will be very important for us to do something special this year,' he said. 'They had a similar year in 1991 under Terry Venables, they only had three wins in the last 25 games but they won the FA Cup. If we can do that it would be a dream.'
He added: 'At Spurs it is different. If you go out at the semi-final (stage) of an FA Cup or UEFA Cup they will be disappointed but it is important for us to compete in these competitions.'
Keane opened the scoring in the sixth minute, latching on to a Mido flick before firing a volley past Jan Lastuvka.
He doubled the lead with 22 minutes left with a carbon copy of his first, maintaining his record of scoring in every round of the competition.
'A bit simple but that is how you can score goals as well,' said Jol.
Jol was delighted with his team matching Fulham physically, adding: 'They have very physical players but we did very well and defended well.
'We lost the initiative in the second half but luckily enough we got the second goal.'
He added: 'You can have all the qualities in the world but you have to compete against these types of sides.'
However, Fulham also had their chances and Paul Robinson was forced to save spectacularly from Brian McBride and Moritz Volz as well as when Mido almost put through his own goal.
'He tells the other players all the time that he wants a clean sheet,' Jol added. 'Everyone saw he is a very good goalkeeper.'
Fulham boss Chris Coleman described the defeat as 'unacceptable'.
Despite previous controversy with referee Mark Halsey, Coleman had no complaints with Vincenzo Montella's sending off for a clash with Keane in the dying moments of the match.
'Vincenzo raised his elbow and swung out, you can't raise your elbow,' said Coleman. 'He's caught Robbie Keane in the mush. It was frustration.'
Coleman added: 'We lost it through poor defending, it wasn't like we didn't create a chance.
'You can't defend like that against a team like Spurs with Keane, Mido and Berbatov.
'With the first goal our positioning was terrible, the second was identical. We were naove and nervous.'
Fulham are in position to challenge for a top-half finish but could also be dragged into a relegation battle, which Coleman is aware of.
He added: 'Luckily we've got 32 points, 12 away from the bottom three but if we defend like that there'll be a relegation battle.'
posted by dgarden at 8:21 am
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