Fulham (0) 0 Tottenham Hotspur (2) 2
If nothing else — and most Tottenham Hotspur fans would say there is nothing
else — Spurs know they have the beating of Fulham. This was their third victory
against Jean Tigana’s side this season, and a result that puts Fulham’s
sustained FA Barclaycard Premiership status in doubt.
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Fulham striker Steve Marlet created several chances
and was unfortunate to see a header hit the woodwork
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No wonder Tigana does not want to talk about the FA Cup — although there
is no evidence that their forthcoming semi-final against Chelsea is a distraction.
Fulham are playing exactly as they have all season. It is a measured, sometimes
stylish, approach that yields few goals.
Tottenham too have had trouble scoring, conceding 13 and scoring none in their
previous four fixtures, but two first-half goals in the space of three minutes
from Teddy Sheringham and Gus Poyet wrapped up a much needed morale-boosting
victory for Glenn Hoddle’s team.
Tigana’s vow that he does not want his players to ditch the style and
slog aggressively for points has not cheered the supporters. Fewer than 16,000
attended this match, by far Fulham’s smallest crowd for a game back in
the Premiership.
They looked too good to return straight back to the Nationwide League at the
start of the season, but now that seems a plausible scenario. You can tell they
are wondering about it at Craven Cottage. An announcement came over the public
address system that the box office would be open for the sale of tickets for
the home game against West Bromwich Albion. It was a Freudian slip. Fulham entertain
West Ham United on Easter Monday.
It is a game that they need to win to stop the pressure becoming unbearable
after six consecutive defeats in the league.
Tigana has never experienced six losses on the trot before. He said there were
two solutions — “You can sack the manager or the players can change
inside.”
There seems little evidence that either will happen. Still, Tottenham fans
were casting envious glances at the home supporters. Fulham could still qualify
for Europe via the FA Cup.
Tigana has had a simple, uncomplicated run to the semi-final stage — in
stark contrast to the finale that the league has in store.
Their home match against Bolton Wanderers might be more tense than any cup
final.
Tottenham could, if they chose, see the tail end of European qualification
in sight, but it would take a monumental effort after their recent poor run.
“It’s been a bit of a sticky wicket for the past couple of weeks,”
Hoddle, the Tottenham manager, said.
One minute they have a three-pronged attack on qualification for the Uefa Cup
and then, in a blast of inefficiency, they find themsleves with a huge empty
feeling.
So they greedily accepted the luck on offer at Craven Cottage. “Our major
motivation was to get back to winning. It’s something we’ve got to
build on, where it takes us depends on how we build on this win,” Hoddle
said.
Spurs took the lead by virtue of a stroke of extreme good fortune. Sheringham,
who had not scored a Premiership goal since December 3, managed to produce one
courtesy of his chiselled cheekbones. A free kick from Christian Ziege struck
the Fulham wall and the ball rebounded into the face of Sheringham. When your
team has not managed to score in the previous four fixtures, a striker does
not really care how they go in.
There was a small element of luck in Tottenham’s second three minutes
later. Ledley King, criticised by his manager in the past week for being at
fault for the goal conceded against Charlton Athletic, spread the ball magnificently
across the pitch to Steffen Iversen. Ziege then took control and fired a shot
at Edwin van der Sar. The Fulham goalkeeper parried well but the ball fell kindly
for Poyet.
It should really have been 3-0. A ball over the top from Anthony Gardner fooled
the Fulham offside trap, leaving Iversen with a vast amount of space and what
must have seemed like three weeks in which to beat the keeper. Iversen panicked
and shot too early and without guile.
| Match
Stats |
Fulham |
Spurs |
| Goal
attempts |
9 |
11 |
| On
Target |
3 |
4 |
| Blocked
shots |
3 |
2 |
| Hit
woodwork |
1 |
0 |
| Fouls |
16 |
13 |
| Offsides |
1 |
1 |
| Corners |
4 |
6 |
| Yellows |
2 |
2 |
| Reds |
0 |
0 |
| source:
www.sports.com |
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Fulham breathed a sigh of relief and improved. Steve Marlet revealed why Tigana
splashed out £12 million for his services. He created several chances and
was unfortunate to see a header hit the woodwork with the ball then cleared off
the line by Ben Thatcher. A fierce strike from Louis Saha brought a fine save
from Neil Sullivan. “People say to me that we are unlucky. We are not unlucky,
we need to work more,” Tigana said.
Even when disaster is looming, albeit far from imminent, Fulham cannot stop
themselves from over-elaboration. A lofted ball in the first half from Sean
Davis was met by Marlet and Saha tried a balletic twist instead of a good old-fashioned
strike.
They are groaning at the Cottage. That kind of flair was overpowering in the
First Division. In the relegation battle it is indulgent.
FULHAM (4-2-2-2): E van der Sar 5 — S Finnan 7, A Ouaddou 5, A Goma 5,
J Harley 5 (sub: R Brevett, 58min 5) — S Davis 7, S Legwinski 5 —
S Malbranque 6, L Saha 6 — B Hayles 6, S Marlet 7. Substitutes not used:
M Taylor, A Melville, J Collins, L Boa Morte. Booked: Malbranque(f, 65), Goma(f,
71).
TOTTENHAM HOTSPUR (4-3-1-2): N Sullivan 7 — L King 7, C Perry 6, A Gardner
5, B Thatcher 5 — D Anderton 4 (sub: S Davies 76), T Sherwood 7, C Ziege
7 — G Poyet 5 — T Sheringham 5, S Iversen 6. Substitutes not used:
K Keller, S Rebrov, M Etherington, A Thelwell. Booked: Gardner, Sherwood.
Referee: P Durkin 6.