Tottenham booked their place in the FA Cup semi-finals as they came from behind to beat Fulham 3-1 in their quarter-final replay.
Tottenham come from behind to beat Fulham
Tottenham booked their place in the FA Cup semi-finals as they came from behind to beat Fulham 3-1 in their quarter-final replay at White Hart Lane.
Europa League heroes Fulham looked well placed at half-time to clinch a Wembley date with Portsmouth, as they deservedly led 1-0 thanks to Bobby Zamora's goal.
But just minutes into the second half and Spurs levelled as substitute David Bentley saw his free-kick bounce in the box and beyond Mark Schwarzer without anyone touching the ball.
On the hour, fellow replacement Roman Pavlyuchenko continued his outstanding form as he fired home.
The win was sealed not long after when a wonderful flowing Spurs move saw Eidur Gudjohnsen round Schwarzer and fire home, albeit perhaps with a little help from the incoming Aaron Hughes.
Harry Redknapp now sets up a mouthwatering tie with former club Portsmouth, who he led to FA Cup glory in 2008.
For Fulham, it was the 50th game of their long season but they still have Europa League glory to aim for - they just failed to maintain their momentum after an impressive first half against Redknapp's men.
Zamora was one of five former Spurs players in Fulham's side. Another two had early efforts, skipper Danny Murphy with a volley from 25 yards and then Simon Davies unleashed an angled drive towards the top corner that Heurelho Gomes needed to parry.
Opener
After his fine form this season, it was no surprise, however, when Zamora opened the scoring after 18 minutes.
Damien Duff was allowed to carry the ball towards the penalty area and as home defenders backed away he slipped the ball through to Zamora, who curled his finish past Gomes and into the bottom corner.
It was Zamora's 17th goal of the season and he looked completely different to the player who arrived at Spurs in 2003 and stayed for just over six unhappy months.
His form has made him an England candidate and after his goal against Juventus last week he is showing Fabio Capello, who was in the stands, he has the taste for the big stage.
The Italian would have noted Zamora also looking after Peter Crouch in his own penalty area when Spurs had set-pieces, then he almost doubled the lead just before the break when Zoltan Gera floated a ball to the far post.
Spurs appeared to be lacking Aaron Lennon's pace but most of their attacks were going through Gudjohnsen. The Iceland forward forced a save from Mark Schwarzer with a backheel and chested the ball down for Luka Modric to fire wide.
But it needed a change to inspire Spurs, so boss Redknapp made his move at the interval, bringing on Bentley and Tom Huddlestone for Niko Kranjcar and Benoit Assou-Ekotto - and it took just 79 seconds for one of his replacements to make an impact.
Stephen Kelly's trip on Gareth Bale earned the Fulham full-back a yellow card, leading to Bentley's inswinging free-kick curling straight in, helped by Vedran Corluka beating the offside trap and ducking under the ball to distract Schwarzer.
Encouraged by the equaliser, Bale drove over the crossbar with a fearsome half-volley, then Bentley almost curled in another free-kick from a similar position - but Schwarzer was ready on that occasion.
Redknapp, however, needed to reorganise as Corluka picked up an apparent ankle knock, leading to Pavlyuchenko being introduced off the bench.
And Redknapp's substitute inflicted immediate damage again. Bentley provided the assist, a looping cross from the right flank that Pavlyuchenko met first time with a volley that beat Schwarzer at the near post.
The next goal came in the 66th minute. Gudjohnsen started the move with a driving run, Modric played him through with a return pass and he flicked the ball past Schwarzer before bundling in.
Duff had a chance to get Fulham back in the tie but his volley was saved by Gomes.
Zamora headed down the tunnel after being replaced with 13 minutes remaining. He was booked for a clash with Sebastien Bassong but escaped a red following a foul on Bale shortly after.
| Tottenham Hotspur |
Team Statistics |
Fulham |
| 3 |
Goals |
1 |
| 0 |
1st Half Goals |
1 |
| 9 |
Shots on Target |
6 |
| 7 |
Shots off Target |
8 |
| 4 |
Blocked Shots |
5 |
| 7 |
Corners |
4 |
| 8 |
Fouls |
10 |
| 1 |
Offsides |
3 |
| 1 |
Yellow Cards |
2 |
| 0 |
Red Cards |
0 |
| 75.9 |
Passing Success |
80.7 |
| 22 |
Tackles |
12 |
| 54.5 |
Tackles Success |
75 |
| 44.9 |
Possession |
55.1 |
| 52 |
Territorial Advantage |
48 |
|
