Fulham 3 Spurs 3 - Kamara snatches late draw
Diomansy Kamara scored a spectacular equaliser a minute from full-time as Fulham grabbed a 3-3 home draw against Tottenham.
Spurs had been ahead since the 11th minute through Younes Kaboul, with Dimitar Berbatov adding a second.
Clint Dempsey pulled one back, but Spurs looked set to take the points when Gareth Bale put them ahead again, only for Kamara to strike when it looked like time had run out.
It meant there was no repeat of Tottenham's efforts last season when they won at Craven Cottage to ease the pressure on boss Martin Jol.
• Jol slams 'awful' Spurs defending
There were concerns over the Dutchman's future at White Hart Lane before the FA Cup win in February, but their victory sparked an encouraging finale to the season.
With Jol's future remaining the hot topic following the infamous meeting between Spurs officials and Juande Ramos two weeks ago, failure to win adds to the concerns.
Victory appeared well within their grasp, particularly as Lawrie Sanchez's men struggled to impose themselves for most of the game.
Sanchez was one of the busier managers on transfer-deadline day. Only Dejan Stefanovic was cleared to play, but the hosts still started like a team who barely knew each other.
Spurs were into their stride and ahead after 11 minutes, exposing Antti Niemi's lack of match-sharpness in the goalkeeper's first appearance of the season.
Robbie Keane's corner from the left had the Finland stopper flapping, leading to another set-piece from the opposite flank.
Niemi made a mess of Bale's inswinger, his attempted clearance falling to Kaboul, who tapped in from a yard out for his first Spurs goal.
There were jitters at the other end too, with Paul Robinson almost gifting Fulham an immediate equaliser.
Robinson, whose position as England's first-choice has been questioned following his blunder against Germany, fumbled a straightforward cross from Hameur Bouazza. Kaboul's clearance hit Steven Davis and went over the bar, saving Robinson from further embarrassment.
Spurs took advantage of their reprieve, with Berbatov adding their second in the 28th minute.
Pascal Chimbonda's throw failed to find a Spurs team-mate, but Davis' header went straight to Keane. The Spurs skipper unlocked the Fulham defence with a first-time volley and Berbatov took one touch with his head and lashed through Niemi.
Jermaine Jenas should have extended the lead but took a touch too many and allowed Carlos Bocanegra to get a challenge in when the midfielder was bearing down on goal.
The uncertainty in the Fulham defence was illustrated by Stefanovic and Chris Baird crashing into each other as they tried to clear a corner, with Spurs looking to add to their tally before the interval.
However, Dempsey gave Fulham a glimmer of hope three minutes before the break when he thundered a header in from Simon Davies' corner.
After the interval Berbatov fired a powerful volley from long distance straight at Niemi, but the goalkeeper parried the ball over his bar.
His save from Jenas in the 54th minute was more impressive after the midfielder curled towards the top corner.
Steed Malbranque then rattled the frame a minute later when Keane's mis-hit fell to him inside the penalty area.
But Spurs' third goal came just after the hour mark. Tom Huddlestone fed Keane on the halfway line and his pass sent Bale racing through to send Niemi the wrong way with his finish.
Spurs thought they should have had a penalty shortly after when Dempsey blocked with his arms.
Berbatov almost took advantage of more confusion when Niemi came rushing out, but Baird made an acrobatic clearance on the line.
Keane appeared disappointed when he was taken off in the 68th minute, with Jermain Defoe coming on.
Smertin's long-range effort with 13 minutes remaining took a wicked deflection off Ricardo Rocha and flew over Robinson and in, offering more hope for Fulham.
Kamara levelled matters with a minute remaining with an overhead kick that dipped over Robinson.
• Jol slams 'awful' Spurs defending
Tottenham boss Martin Jol was furious with his defenders for failing to hold onto a 3-1 lead that would have given them a morale-boosting victory over Fulham going into the international break.
Spurs failed to clear Chris Baird's throw in the final minute at Craven Cottage and Diomansy Kamara's scissor-kick dipped over Paul Robinson to earn Fulham a point.
Jol told his players exactly what he thought of their defending after the 3-3 draw in a match where they were leading for most of the time following Younes Kaboul's opener.
Dimitar Berbatov added the second but Clint Dempsey's header from a corner kept Fulham within sight.
'At 2-0 we should have scored the third and the fourth, we didn't do that and conceded from a corner,' said Jol. 'It's awful to see that.
'You can't concede goals like the third, from a throw-in. We have to cut out these mistakes, they make it difficult to win games.
'I can't say we are unfortunate all the time but we have to defend better. If it is a wonderful attack with lots of one-twos..... but a corner-kick?'
Jol's position at Spurs has been under scrutiny since the infamous meeting between officials and Sevilla boss Juande Ramos, and a win would have eased some of the pressure.
Victory looked assured when Gareth Bale raced through to make it 3-1, although Jol then took off skipper Robbie Keane despite setting up two goals.
'Jermain Defoe was very hungry in training and I thought he could do something,' said Jol. 'Robbie didn't have the best of games despite making two goals. Most of the times if comes off but this time it didn't.
'You could see he was unhappy but he better be (happy) because he's my skipper. He knows Defoe is an important part of the squad, and so is Darren Bent.'
Jol also brought on Michael Dawson, just back from an ankle injury, as an extra centre-back.
Fulham chased the game with four forwards and Alexey Smertin's deflected strike got them back in the contest, with Kamara's acrobatics saving a point.
'Fulham fans don't expect to beat big teams like Arsenal, but they expect the side to give everything they have got,' said boss Lawrie Sanchez.
'The Berbatovs and Keanes of this world are at the top of their game and there will be times when you are out of it. But it showed that hard graft can get you some reward.'
Sanchez was one of the busier managers on transfer-deadline day but only Dejan Stefanovic was cleared to play.
'There has been a lot of changes in the summer,' Sanchez said. 'I felt it was necessary and I said to the board that we needed to rebuild.
'It had gone a bit stale and I needed to change that. The board have backed that. We spent money, recouped some and we'll spend more after Christmas.'
He added: 'It's a new era. It's little steps at a time like this.'
And after their three defeats this season came from late goals, Sanchez added: 'If I was a Fulham fan I wouldn't be leaving the games early. We rode our luck but credit to the players.'
Spurs had been ahead since the 11th minute through Younes Kaboul, with Dimitar Berbatov adding a second.
Clint Dempsey pulled one back, but Spurs looked set to take the points when Gareth Bale put them ahead again, only for Kamara to strike when it looked like time had run out.
It meant there was no repeat of Tottenham's efforts last season when they won at Craven Cottage to ease the pressure on boss Martin Jol.
• Jol slams 'awful' Spurs defending
There were concerns over the Dutchman's future at White Hart Lane before the FA Cup win in February, but their victory sparked an encouraging finale to the season.
With Jol's future remaining the hot topic following the infamous meeting between Spurs officials and Juande Ramos two weeks ago, failure to win adds to the concerns.
Victory appeared well within their grasp, particularly as Lawrie Sanchez's men struggled to impose themselves for most of the game.
Sanchez was one of the busier managers on transfer-deadline day. Only Dejan Stefanovic was cleared to play, but the hosts still started like a team who barely knew each other.
Spurs were into their stride and ahead after 11 minutes, exposing Antti Niemi's lack of match-sharpness in the goalkeeper's first appearance of the season.
Robbie Keane's corner from the left had the Finland stopper flapping, leading to another set-piece from the opposite flank.
Niemi made a mess of Bale's inswinger, his attempted clearance falling to Kaboul, who tapped in from a yard out for his first Spurs goal.
There were jitters at the other end too, with Paul Robinson almost gifting Fulham an immediate equaliser.
Robinson, whose position as England's first-choice has been questioned following his blunder against Germany, fumbled a straightforward cross from Hameur Bouazza. Kaboul's clearance hit Steven Davis and went over the bar, saving Robinson from further embarrassment.
Spurs took advantage of their reprieve, with Berbatov adding their second in the 28th minute.
Pascal Chimbonda's throw failed to find a Spurs team-mate, but Davis' header went straight to Keane. The Spurs skipper unlocked the Fulham defence with a first-time volley and Berbatov took one touch with his head and lashed through Niemi.
Jermaine Jenas should have extended the lead but took a touch too many and allowed Carlos Bocanegra to get a challenge in when the midfielder was bearing down on goal.
The uncertainty in the Fulham defence was illustrated by Stefanovic and Chris Baird crashing into each other as they tried to clear a corner, with Spurs looking to add to their tally before the interval.
However, Dempsey gave Fulham a glimmer of hope three minutes before the break when he thundered a header in from Simon Davies' corner.
After the interval Berbatov fired a powerful volley from long distance straight at Niemi, but the goalkeeper parried the ball over his bar.
His save from Jenas in the 54th minute was more impressive after the midfielder curled towards the top corner.
Steed Malbranque then rattled the frame a minute later when Keane's mis-hit fell to him inside the penalty area.
But Spurs' third goal came just after the hour mark. Tom Huddlestone fed Keane on the halfway line and his pass sent Bale racing through to send Niemi the wrong way with his finish.
Spurs thought they should have had a penalty shortly after when Dempsey blocked with his arms.
Berbatov almost took advantage of more confusion when Niemi came rushing out, but Baird made an acrobatic clearance on the line.
Keane appeared disappointed when he was taken off in the 68th minute, with Jermain Defoe coming on.
Smertin's long-range effort with 13 minutes remaining took a wicked deflection off Ricardo Rocha and flew over Robinson and in, offering more hope for Fulham.
Kamara levelled matters with a minute remaining with an overhead kick that dipped over Robinson.
• Jol slams 'awful' Spurs defending
Tottenham boss Martin Jol was furious with his defenders for failing to hold onto a 3-1 lead that would have given them a morale-boosting victory over Fulham going into the international break.
Spurs failed to clear Chris Baird's throw in the final minute at Craven Cottage and Diomansy Kamara's scissor-kick dipped over Paul Robinson to earn Fulham a point.
Jol told his players exactly what he thought of their defending after the 3-3 draw in a match where they were leading for most of the time following Younes Kaboul's opener.
Dimitar Berbatov added the second but Clint Dempsey's header from a corner kept Fulham within sight.
'At 2-0 we should have scored the third and the fourth, we didn't do that and conceded from a corner,' said Jol. 'It's awful to see that.
'You can't concede goals like the third, from a throw-in. We have to cut out these mistakes, they make it difficult to win games.
'I can't say we are unfortunate all the time but we have to defend better. If it is a wonderful attack with lots of one-twos..... but a corner-kick?'
Jol's position at Spurs has been under scrutiny since the infamous meeting between officials and Sevilla boss Juande Ramos, and a win would have eased some of the pressure.
Victory looked assured when Gareth Bale raced through to make it 3-1, although Jol then took off skipper Robbie Keane despite setting up two goals.
'Jermain Defoe was very hungry in training and I thought he could do something,' said Jol. 'Robbie didn't have the best of games despite making two goals. Most of the times if comes off but this time it didn't.
'You could see he was unhappy but he better be (happy) because he's my skipper. He knows Defoe is an important part of the squad, and so is Darren Bent.'
Jol also brought on Michael Dawson, just back from an ankle injury, as an extra centre-back.
Fulham chased the game with four forwards and Alexey Smertin's deflected strike got them back in the contest, with Kamara's acrobatics saving a point.
'Fulham fans don't expect to beat big teams like Arsenal, but they expect the side to give everything they have got,' said boss Lawrie Sanchez.
'The Berbatovs and Keanes of this world are at the top of their game and there will be times when you are out of it. But it showed that hard graft can get you some reward.'
Sanchez was one of the busier managers on transfer-deadline day but only Dejan Stefanovic was cleared to play.
'There has been a lot of changes in the summer,' Sanchez said. 'I felt it was necessary and I said to the board that we needed to rebuild.
'It had gone a bit stale and I needed to change that. The board have backed that. We spent money, recouped some and we'll spend more after Christmas.'
He added: 'It's a new era. It's little steps at a time like this.'
And after their three defeats this season came from late goals, Sanchez added: 'If I was a Fulham fan I wouldn't be leaving the games early. We rode our luck but credit to the players.'
posted by dgarden at 3:04 pm
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