Bolton earn Spurs replay

Tottenham come from behind at Reebok

Last updated: 14th February 2010   Subscribe to RSS Feed

Bolton earn Spurs replay

Defoe: Celebrates equaliser

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Tottenham Hotspur had to come from behind at the Reebok Stadium to earn a 1-1 draw and a replay with Bolton Wanders in their FA Cup fifth-round clash.

The Trotters deservedly had the lead at the break with Kevin Davies finding the back of the net for Owen Coyle's side.

But Spurs came back strong in the second half and levelled through the ubiquitous Jermain Defoe.

Spurs then spurned a wonderful chance to take their place in the quarter-finals as Sam Ricketts handled in the box, but Jussi Jaaskelainen pushed Tom Huddlestone's spot-kick wide.

Bolton, who created four decent openings in the opening quarter of an hour, should have had a comfortable cushion before half-time.

Johan Elmander's ninth minute shot was deflected over by Vedran Corluka after Chung-Yong Lee's cross came back off Matt Taylor, Zat Knight volleyed straight at goalkeeper Heurelho Gomes and Elmander's threatening run into the left of the area was halted only by Huddlestone's well-timed tackle.

However, the Swede was more culpable when he was sent clear by Ricardo Gardner's 15th minute through ball as his first touch took him wide and his second saw him blaze wildly over with his left foot.

Taylor was next to threaten with a low curling 30-yard free-kick which Gomes did well to turn around the post.

Opener

Bolton's pressure eventually told in the 34th minute with a flowing move for which Owen Coyle's sides have earned a reputation.

Gardner's threaded pass picked out Elmander's diagonal run 10 yards outside the penalty area and he exchanged passes with Lee before crossing from the byline to Davies who took one touch and stabbed home.

Defoe's sole contribution of the first half was to get booked, along with Taylor, for his part in an argument with the Bolton midfielder.

Davies almost scored his second two minutes after the break when Lee's cross was laid off by Elmander and the Wanderers captain's shot was deflected just wide of the post by Michael Dawson with Gomes completely wrong-footed.

The one-way traffic continued with Elmander firing into the side-netting after combining with Fabrice Muamba and Davies to find space on the right of the penalty area.

Muamba should have done better in the 54th minute when a quick counter-attack saw Paul Robinson dispossess Peter Crouch in the Wanderers penalty area and release Davies who in turn sent Elmander racing down the left but when the cross came in the England Under 21 international screwed his shot wide.

Tottenham had two chances to equalise within the space of the next 120 seconds but were denied twice by the woodwork.

Firstly Crouch beat Jaaskelainen to head against the crossbar and then Wilson Palacios' driving run and cross saw Robinson deflect the ball up and onto the top of the frame of the goal.

Spurs eventually made the breakthrough in the 61st minute when Gareth Bale cut into the area and picked out Defoe on the penalty spot for the striker to take a touch before firing high into the net.

Six minutes later substitute Niko Kranjcar, on for the ineffective Luka Modric, lashed in a 25-yard shot which Jaaskelainen had to tip around the post at full stretch.

With 19 minutes remaining Spurs were handed the chance to score a second when Crouch's attempt to lift the ball over Sam Ricketts saw it hit the defender's arm.

However, Huddlestone's effort from the spot was poor and Jaaskelainen saved to his right.

The goalkeeper was called into action again moments later to turn Defoe's shot around the post.

After such inactivity earlier in the game it was Spurs who finished the stronger but Bolton held out to earn a trip to White Hart Lane.

Bolton WanderersTeam StatisticsTottenham Hotspur
1Goals1
11st Half Goals0
3Shots on Target6
9Shots off Target8
7Blocked Shots6
8Corners12
17Fouls15
1Offsides0
2Yellow Cards3
0Red Cards0
64Passing Success68.4
17Tackles14
64.7Tackles Success50
49.8Possession50.2
44.6Territorial Advantage55.4
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Comments (2)

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Bruce Linton (Tottenham Hotspur fan) says...

Why are we not able to finish sides off! We don't compete for 45 minutes and are lucky to come off only 1-0 down. 2nd half we dominate, cannot score more than 1 goal with the so called best front two in the league?. Then we win a penalty, Dead ball strikers such as Bale, Bentley and even Huddlestone cannot strike a ball from 12 yards. We are not a top 4, lucky if we will be top 6!

Posted 18:44 14th February 2010

John Kingston (Bolton Wanderers fan) says...

Right can I just say Spurs earnt a Bolton replay, Bolton didnt earn a Spurs replay, spurs came from behind equalise... we know you all favour London clubs but come on

Posted 17:38 14th February 2010
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