27  Sacha RIETHER
  4  Phillipe SENDEROS     
18  Aaron HUGHES
  3  John Arne RIISE

28  Scott PARKER (c)  (10  Bryan RUIZ 87)

14  Giorgos KARAGOUNIS  (  7  Steve SIDWELL 62)
  8  Pajtim KASAMI     
11  KACANIKLIC  (16  Damien DUFF 85)

24  Ashkan DEJEGAH 

  9  Dimitar BERBATOV

Unused subs: 
13  David STOCKDALE
22  Elsad ZVEROTOC
19  Adel TAARABT
23  Derek BOATENG
 

  2  Kyle WALKER
  6  Vlad CHIRICHES 
20  Michael DAWSON (c)
  5  Jan VERTONGHEN

30  SANDRO (21  Nacer CHADLI 69)
15  Etienne CAPOUE       (14  Lewis HOLTBY 46  )

  7  Aaron LENNON
  8  PAULINHO
11  Erik LAMELA (17  Andros TOWNSEND 78)

18  Jermain DEFOE
 

Unused subs: 
24  Brad FRIEDEL
16  Kyle NAUGHTON
22  Gylfi SIGURDSSON
  9  Roberto SOLDADO

A spirited display by Fulham in their first game under the control of new manager Rene Meulensteen caused Spurs quite a few problems, but an equally good twenty minutes was enough for Tottenham to take the three points with a 2-1 win at Craven Cottage, which is rapidly becoming their favourite away day venue.

While Tottenham will be indebted to Hugo Lloris, who made three top drawer saves to keep the team in the game, equally, they will look at the chances that got away to put this game beyond Fulham's reach and make their late charge less important than it turned out.  The players will need to address their carelessness with the ball that they demonstrated in the first half, which made them look poor against a home team keen to impress the new man in charge.

An up-tempo start by Fulham brought a free-kick in the first couple of minutes, which Lennon cleared as it came in low to the near post.  A through ball from Sandro from the right saw Spurs carve out their first opportunity, with Jermain Defoe, installed at the expense of Roberto Soldado, firing low to Stekelenburg's left and the Dutch keeper made a good stop.  As expected Dimitar Berbatov was included after a short illness and he was looking dangerous, firstly getting on the end of a cross from Karagounis' free-kick to head straight at Hugo, then just failing to seize on Kacaniklic's pass as his touch unusually let him down.  With 13 minutes gone, Lloris had to be alert to push away Karagounis' long range effort and ten minutes later, the French captain did even better, with a low stop to shovel Berbatov's delicate flick on to Kazami's ball in, which was heading for the bottom corner until Hugo pushed it wide.

A minute later, a loose ball in the centre circle was picked off by Lennon and he sent Defoe away.  Unselfishly, he squared form the left into Paulinho, who dropped a shoulder to go round two men in the box, leaving him with only Stekelenburg to beat.   However, his previously good finishing deserted him, as he lashed the ball over from 12 yards, with the top corners asking for a shot to be placed into them.  The game was end to end, as Spurs failed to hold onto possession and after another minute, Kasami met a corner to flash the ball over the bar at the near post.  On the half hour, Defoe was provider again, as he laid the ball into the path of Erik Lamela, just inside the penalty area, who took aim and curled a shot a foot wide of the far post.  A couple of minutes on and Lamela moved forward with the ball and struck a shot with more intent, which had Stekelenburg diving to push the ball wide of goal.

Spurs were having a good spell with both Lennon and Capoue coming inside with differing results.  Aaron's effort touched a Fulham leg on the way through and went a yard wide, while Etienne's shot did not need any assistance in missing the target from 22 yards out.  A couple of balls flashed across the box, before the play moved to the Spurs end and Kasami had a shot deflected wide.  In injury time it was back to the other end and Paulinho mis-hit a good ball in from Walker to end the half.

There was a chill in the Craven Cottage air and at 0-0, you wondered how the media would greet such a score if the match ended like that.  But AVB brought on Lewis Holtby for Capoue after the break and his industry showed early on as he bustled to get a shot in, only for the sting to be taken out of it by a Fulham deflection.  Spurs were getting in behind their full backs, but the low crosses into the box were not quite finding their man, but then five minutes in, Sandro fired a blocked shot at goal, only for Kasami to do the same to his effort.

Tottenham had to be wary of their old striker and Berbatov took the ball down in the box, turned tightly and hit a shot into the side-netting.  This was just a pre-cursor to him setting up the opening goal of the game for Ashkan Degejah.  Taking the ball under control 25 yards out, the Bulgarian turned to his right and played the pass straight into the run of the Iranian international so that he could hit it first time, going all the way along the floor, past Lloris and into the stanchion in the far side of the goal.  It was one of those moments when your stomach sinks.  Just when we were starting to put some moves together and we get hit by a sucker punch.  Degejah had acres of space out there and with our current difficulty in scoring, I wondered if we would be able to get back into it, let alone win it.

Fulham had a little spell where they were pushing on the Spurs goal, but without any solid goal threat, bringing on Sidwell to replace the tiring older legs of Karagounis, while Spurs introduced Chadli for Sandro.  With 72 minutes gone,  Kyle Walker made another run up the right and his cross was punched out for a corner by the Fulham keeper.  Under pressure when Walker's corner came in, the keeper half punched it and it was helped out of the box, but running straight onto it, just left of centre, was Vlad Chiriches.  Without breaking stride, he struck it first time and the ball went low, not looking particularly powerful, but it went in off Stekelenburg's right hand post, missing all the legs on the way and finding the back of the net.  An unusual source of an equaliser, but Vlad has this in his locker, as You Tube videos of his Champions League exploits at Steaua Bucharest show.

It was a sense of relief as much a anything that came over me.  The embarrassment of losing to Fulham would have been bad.  A point was better than nothing. 

Then Defoe got onto Chadli's pass through the defence and an early shot flew over.  But Fulham weren't finished and Berbatov was still pegging away and his flick from Kacaniklic's cross brought another good save from Lloris.  but with eight minutes gone,  Lewis Holtby scored a screamer to give Tottenham the lead.  Kyle Walker played the ball into him from the right, taking the ball on the right hand corner of the penalty area.  He moved infield, drifting past a couple of players and struck a fierce left foot dive from outside the box, which left Stekelenburg diving to his left, but he could not get the lift to reach the shot that rasped past him.  It was a fine shot that deserved goal.

As did the next move which saw Paulinho head Holtby's cross at goal and the Fulham keeper did well to arch his back and reach the ball behind him as it was going into the top corner.  He flicked it over to prevent what would have been a killer goal.  another save, this time at the other end, kept the score=line the same, with Lloris scooping the ball away as substitute Ruiz scuffed a shot at goal after the ball had bobbled around the Spurs box.

With Damien Duff on and Ruiz pushed forward, Fulham were going for an equaliser in added time, with Kasami firing in a shot from their right wing that hit the outside of the post, but Lloris had it covered, hanging on to the woodwork to make sure it didn't find a way past him.  The remainder of the time was played out, with the major worry being the injury that Jan Vertonghen suffered near the end, which left him hobbling through the final minute or so.

An uncomfortable evening, both football and weather wise, but the right outcome on the pitch helped lift us to sixth, with other results going our way and leaving us three points off Liverpool in fourth.   Admittedly, we would need a swing of 15 goals to overtake them should we win and they lose at the weekend, but perhaps things aren't so bad.  Man United lost at home to Everton, so they have become this week's crisis club.  After an 11 game unbeaten run !!

Let's just see who things pan out over the new few months and worry about things then.   A comeback win and another one away from home is good news surely.

Well, for a few days at least ;o)

Jeff Blakeley