Tottenham 3 Watford 1 - Robinson Goal!!

Paul Robinson v Watford
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Paul Robinson scored an extraordinary goal from his own half to embarrass his England rival Ben Foster in Tottenham's Barclays Premiership 3-1 victory over Watford.

Robinson wheeled away in celebration after his free-kick bounced over Foster, the young goalkeeper on loan from Manchester United who has been putting pressure on his as England's first choice.

'That's why you're number one,' sang the fans after his goal, remarkably the second of his career after netting for Leeds before arriving at Spurs.

Ironically, he had little to do aside from score the second after Jermaine Jenas had given Spurs the lead just before the break.

Foster was the one called into action more often and, after his monumental mis-judgement, he pulled off a stunning save to bravely deny Mido when he spilled Tom Huddlestone's tame effort.

Hossam Ghaly, however, added a third with five minutes left that Foster could do little about, with Darius Henderson grabbing a late consolation.

The clash was always billed as England's present against England's future goalkeepers, yet they had little to do in the opening exchanges.

Robinson's trickiest moment in the first half was controlling a back pass from Mido when the Egypt striker decided to head back to his own goal from the halfway line.

Mido was one of the raft of changes made by Spurs boss Martin Jol, with Monday's FA Cup quarter-final replay against Chelsea clearly in mind.

Spurs may have the FA Cup and the UEFA Cup to compete in, but the victory also saw them continue their march towards the top six, with Jol now using his players sparingly.

Jenas and Robinson were the senior players returning from injury, thigh and groin respectively, while Dimitar Berbatov, Robbie Keane and Aaron Lennon were on the bench.

The trio of players Jol had in reserve had played significant roles in Spurs scoring 23 goals in the previous seven games, and without them the threat was less obvious.

Mido was given a little room in the first minute to collect a pass from Young-Pyo Lee, but his cross dipped over Foster and away from danger.

It was a rare moment of threat of an opening period characterised by stray passes and a lack of cohesion from both teams.

Ricardo Rocha, also returning to the side, needed to visit the dressing room for four stitches under his eye and to change his blood-stained shirt after a challenge with Tommy Smith, but the centre-back was able to continue.

Steed Malbranque fashioned the first chance in the 17th minute, when he got to by-line and cut a cross back, but Mido sliced his effort over.

Foster was called into action in the 24th minute after Jenas' reverse ball found Jermain Defoe in the penalty area. The England striker shot on the turn, but Foster was down smartly to save.

At the other end, Watford were gifted their first chance to break the deadlock when Pascal Chimbonda's pass went straight to Tamas Priskin, but the Hungarian's shot was blocked for a corner.

Chimbonda, however, helped Spurs grab the lead in the 41st minute.

The full-back's deep cross from the right was met by Jenas, who squeezed between Adrian Mariappa and Gareth Williams to steer his header beyond Foster.

Defoe should have doubled the lead just before the break when he twisted his way past Lloyd Doyley and poked just wide, while Mido was inches from getting on the end of a Ghaly cross.

With 11 minutes gone in the second period Boothroyd replaced Priskin with Henderson in an attempt to put more pressure on Robinson's goal.

But it was Foster who was called into action, in the 57th minute, when he had to claw a Jenas corner away from danger. Malbranque then had a shot from 20 yards but Foster saved easily.

Huddlestone's free-kick was met by Mido but Foster was down smartly to save again.

But his good work was undone in the 63rd minute after Malbranque was fouled by Hameur Bouazza. Taking the free-kick well into his own half, Robinson's set-piece bounced over Foster and in.

Robinson had been embarrassed by Gary Neville's back-pass while playing for England earlier in the season, but this time it was Foster who was left with a red face.

Still, he showed why his reputation is so high with his brave save from Mido and also tipping over Huddlestone's swerving effort.

Ghaly added the third with five minutes remaining with a cool finish from 12 yards out, while Henderson grabbed a consolation when he tapped in from close range.

Tottenham goalkeeper Paul Robinson promised not to gloat about his amazing strike against Watford when he joins up with Ben Foster for England duty.

Robinson embarrassed Foster, his deputy at international level, by scoring direct from a free-kick inside his own half in the 63rd minute at White Hart Lane in Spurs' 3-1 win.

However, after conceding an infamous goal himself against Croatia last year, Robinson is not going to remind Foster when they meet up later in the week for England's Euro 2008 double-header against Israel and Andorra.

'I will try not to mention it,' Robinson insisted. 'I know what it's like and it's not nice.

'It was a bit of a freak. If it goes wide I would probably have got a telling off from the strikers - it's just one of those things in football.'

Robinson's goal was actually the second of his career after scoring for Leeds in a League Cup tie in 2003.

Spurs boss Martin Jol said: 'I said to him 'now you know what it feels like to score' but he said he had already done it.

'It's always good when they score from all angles. Paul has a terrific kick, one of the best in England, so that can happen.

'You feel for the other goalkeeper but it happened to Paul in Croatia. It can happen to anyone.'

A week after his man-of-the-match display at Plymouth in the FA Cup, there was nearly more embarrassment for Foster when he spilled a tame Tom Huddlestone shot but he bravely spread himself to deny Mido.

'If you're playing in the big clubs it's more difficult, at Watford he has eight or nine chances to show his class and he did that,' added Jol.

Spurs were already a goal ahead by the time Robinson struck, Jermaine Jenas heading the hosts ahead before the break.

Hossam Ghaly added a third before Darius Henderson grabbed a late consolation.

The victory took Spurs back into the top six of the Barclays Premiership, although their progress was totally overshadowed by Robinson's goal.

Watford manager Adrian Boothroyd tipped Foster earlier this month to become the finest goalkeeper in the world, and he believes the 23-year-old will bounce back from his error.

'It's funny how things get thrown up, England number one and future number one,' said Boothroyd. 'He just got it completely wrong.

'He came straight to the dressing room and apologised to everyone which is the mark of the man he is.

'It's how you bounce back from adversity - Ben is a terrific goalkeeper and will go on to better things.

'You have to be able to respond to that and I'm sure he will.'

Ahead of their FA Cup quarter-final replay against Chelsea on Monday, Jol was able to rest Dimitar Berbatov and Robbie Keane, while Aaron Lennon came off the bench.

Jol added: 'If the players come in and do well then there is no problem.'