Fulham 1 Tottenham Hotspur 3

Tottenham's rear-guard action in the second half, inspired by Brad Friedel, denied Fulham and so maintained their unbeaten run to move level on points with Chelsea in fifth place with one match in hand.  Spurs scored two first half goals through Gareth Bale and Aaron Lennon.  A late strike from substutute Jermain Defoe confirmed the victory and added to Fulham's anguish.

Tottenham's Smash and Grab Raid at the Cottage

Fulham 1 Tottenham Hotspur 3

Scorers: Kaboul (og)        Bale, Lennon, Defoe

Team: Friedel; Walker, Kaboul, King, Assou-Ekotto; Lennon (Sandro), Parker, Modric, Bale; Van der Vaart (Defoe), Adebayor.   Subs: (unused) Cudicini, Bassong, Corluka, Livermore, Pienaar.

Brad Friedel - 'Man of the Match'

Tottenham took the three points to maintain their eight game unbeaten run in the Premier League but after holding a two goal interval lead, it required all the expertise of 40 year old, Brad Friedel, to ensure they only conceded one goal as Fulham's second half onslaught threatened to grab at least a point and possibly all three.

It was an unchanged team from last week's win over QPR that Kevin Bond and Joe Jordan sent out, as they continued in charge as Harry Redknapp recuperates following his heart operation.  Vedran Corluka and Steven Pienaar, recovered from injury were among the substitutes.

In the early stages Fulham worked hard, preventing Tottenham from playing at their best and although they had the lion's share of possession, the home side didn't cause Spurs' defence too many problems.  From a corner after two minutes, Spurs had an early indication of the danger Fulham could be from set-pieces as Friedel had to react quickly to save a header at his near post.  After ten minutes, Kyle Walker was released on the right, he got to the goal line and pulled the ball back to Lennon whose cross was pushed out to Gareth Bale on the left.  His powerful goal bound shot deflected off the knee of Chris Baird.

The game continued in a similar pattern with Spurs coping with the limited threat caused by Fulham who caused Friedel few problems.  Spurs played controlled, passing football without ever reaching the levels achieved last week although on occasions they attacked at pace which caused Fulham concern.  Then on 45 minutes, as added time was being announced, Lennon, now on the left, ran at Baird, turning him right and left, and hammered a powerful left foot shot into the corner of the net to double Spurs' lead.

As with last week, a two goal advantage was looking comfortable for Spurs but Martin Jol obviously had a few harsh words with his players at half-time.  They were much more forceful and dominant with their possession in the second half and put immense pressure on the Tottenham defence at corners and set-pieces and with the use of the high ball.  Where, in the first period, Spurs had been able to play the ball out from defence, they had to play it long but it came straight back.  Fulham won a series of corners and eventually, after giving Spurs a few scares, they scored.  On 57 minutes, King rose to clear a corner, but his header struck the back of Younes Kaboul and into the net.  This encouraged Fulham so they piled on even more pressure.

Tottenham's midfield was being over-run, putting the defence under continuous pressure.  Jermain Defoe replaced Rafael Van der Vaart, so he missed the opportunity to score for a sixth consecutive League match.  This failed to lift the pressure and with fifteen minutes remaining Sandro was introduced in place of Lennon.  

Through the second half Friedel was called upon to make a number of vital saves, tipping over from a corner, saving from Dempsey, saving a long range effort from Baird and then in the final minutes it was all hands on deck as players threw themselves in front of the ball to block goal bound shots.  Friedel saved, King put in a crucial tackle, Luka Modric cleared off the line, Parker blocked a shot, Walker blocked the ball in an old-fashioned goalmouth scramble and was fortunate not to concede a penalty as he handled the ball in the ruck.  It was do or die for both sides, Parker could have had a penalty for a push in one of Spurs' few second half forays near the Fulham penalty area.

Then, to add salt to the wound, in the last minute of added time Bale broke on the left and headed for the corner flag.  He won a throw, took it quickly to Emmanuel Adebayor on the goal line who played it back for Defoe to score a third - a smash and grab raid from Tottenham.

Brad Friedel was the Man of the Match - Spurs were fortunate but they managed to hold out against the threat posed by the former Tottenham manager and players - Martin Jol, Bobby Zamora, Danny Murphy and Stephen Kelly - they gave their all but Spurs held on and go into the international break on a high.  Next match is against Aston Villa at White Hart Lane on Monday, 21st November at 8.05 pm.  I can't wait as I'll be there, my first Premier League game of the season.

Harry Redknapp has been told by his doctors to take five or six weeks to recover from his heart operation.  If he was watching the second half on television, he might need longer.  I, who have no heart problems, could feel my blood pressure raised after enduring the pounding Fulham gave Spurs in the second half.  Tottenham survived and so did I and I wish Harry a speedy recovery.

Tottenham's League Record at Fulham

Undefeated in the last seven Premier League, Tottenham cross London to take on Fulham where they will encounter former manager, Martin Jol.  Spurs won at Craven Cottage in the league last year but were unceremoniously dumped out of the FA Cup later in the season.  Fulham have shown recent improvement after a slow start and are progressing well in the Europa League.

Fulham had a very early start to their competitive season with matches in the qualifying stages of the Europa League after entering through the Fair Play League.  This has seen them with a hectic schedule of fixtures since late June putting their squad under pressure.  However, they appear to be coping well and have recorded a 6 - 0 home win over Queen's Park Rangers at the beginning of October and last week won 2 - 0 at Wigan.  This was a good recovery for them after the disappointment of the previous weekend when at home to Everton, Bobby Zamora, formerly of Tottenham, missed an open goal in the final minute to win the game and then saw the visitors take all three points with two goals in added time.  They are currently in 15th place in the Premier League, too many draws being their problem, as it was last season.  They have the one home win and three draws against Aston Villa, Manchester City and Blackburn Rovers, with the one defeat to Everton.  They are the only Premier League side to take points from City, coming from two goals down to deny the league leaders.  Fulham have scored ten goals and their strikers are starting to find their touch - Andrew Johnson and Bobby Zamora with Clint Dempsey.  They had a good 4 - 1 home win in the Europa League against Wisla Krakow with Johnson scoring twice on Thursday evening to take them into second place in their group.

With a small squad the players get to know and understand their system of play which makes them a hard working unit which is difficult to beat.  They have a group of players with extensive Premier League experience, goalkeeper, Mark Schwarzer, the Northern Ireland international defenders, Aaron Hughes and Chris Baird, highly rated defender Brede Hangeland, Steve Sidwell in midfield along with their experienced strike force.  However, the demands of the Europe has seen them lose points immediately after these games and especially the away matches where they have lost at Newcastle, Stoke and Wolverhampton.

Fulham, in recent years signed a number of former Tottenham players and still have Stephen Kelly, Simon Davies, Zamora and Danny Murphy as regulars in their team, although injury has again restricted Davies.  Martin Jol strengthened his strike force with the signing of the Coast Rican, Bryan Ruiz from FC Twente.

Last Premier League Game at Craven Cottage
Last season Tottenham completed the 'double' over Fulham, winning 2 -1 at Craven Cottage and 1 - 0 at home with Gareth Bale scoring the only goal.  The away in mid-October was marked by controversy over Tottenham's second goal.  Fulham had gone ahead after thirty minutes but Roman Pavlyuchenko responded to equalise within a minute.  In the second half, Tom Huddlestone scored the winner but it seemed that it might be disallowed as William Gallas was in an off-side position in front of the goalkeeper when the shot was struck.  However, after some confusion, the goal stood and Tottenham had again won from a losing position, a feature of last season's results.  It was a hard fought victory and what will be required again to bring success to Spurs on Sunday.

League Record at Fulham (inc. PL)

P  32  W  12  D  12  L  8  For  49  Ag  43 

Premier League Record at Fulham

P  10  W  2  D  3  L  5  For  12  Ag  15

Prior to Fulham's return to top flight football in the Premier League in 2001 after an absence of 33 years, Spurs had a good record at Craven Cottage, having only lost on three occasions in 22 visits.  However, since establishing themselves in the Premier League, Fulham have clawed back much of Tottenham's advantage gained in the earlier years.  In 2001 Spurs won 2 - 0 with goals from Teddy Sheringham and Gus Poyet but since that last year's win has been their only other League success.

Recent Away Record against Fulham
Oct, 2010  PL  Won 2 - 1  Pavlyuchenko, Huddlestone
Mar. 2010  PL  Draw 0 - 0
Dec. 2009  PL  Draw 0 - 0
Dec. 2008  PL  Lost 1 - 2  Campbell
Harry Redknapp had taken over as manager in October and this was their first League defeat.  A horror show from Heurelho Gomes gifted Fulham the opening goal when mishandling a routine shot by  Simon Davies in the first half.  Johnson added the second with twenty minutes remaining.  On loan signing, Frazer Campbell scored with ten minutes left having replaced Darren Bent.  It was his only League goal for Spurs but it was too late. 
Sept. 2007  PL  Draw 3 - 3  Kaboul, Berbatov, Bale
A match Tottenham had won with a comfortable 3 - 1 advantage after an hour.  Fulham pulled a goal back through Dempsey and then an equaliser in the final minute denied Tottenham and manager Martin Jol.
Jan. 2007  PL  Draw 1 - 1  Chimbonda
A late equaliser from full back Pascal Chimbonda salvaged a point for Tottenham.
Jan. 2006  PL  Lost 0 - 1
A game which looked to be heading for a scoreless draw was decided in the final agonising minutes for Spurs.  Michael  Dawson had been sent off  for a second bookable offence with fifteen minutes left.  Fulham then scored the winner from a free-kick in the final minute.

Tottenham, having sent a very young squad to Russia, will be looking to continue their good League form with all the first team players available.  If everyone is available, Spurs are likely to select an unchanged team with Rafael Van der Vaart hoping to set a new Tottenham record by scoring in six successive Premier League games.  The fitness of Ledley King will be the usual late decision and if he is unavailable, Sebastien Bassong will have to step in with William Gallas suffering a recurrence of his injury in Russia.  This will be a difficult match for Tottenham - it is a London derby, their former manager, Martin Jol, will be wanting to prove a point against his former employers and there will probably be three former Spurs players in the Fulham team - Zamora, Kelly and Murphy all wanting to put one over their former club.  Fulham also have Dempsey and Johnson who invariably do well against Tottenham so the defenders will have to be alert to the danger.    

Harry Redknapp may be absent, leaving Kevin Bond and Joe Jordan in charge, as he recovers from the heart surgery which prevented him from travelling with the team to Russia.  Everyone wishes him a speedy recovery but he needs to be sensible and take sufficient recovery time as prescribed by his doctors.