FA Cup Fifth round/ Fulham 0 Tottenham 4:Tottenham will take far more pride in mining an ultimately emphatic victory out of this tie than they would have done from a showy display of superiority.
There is no need to prove the talent of a squad whose abilities are well known, but Martin Jol's side did have to demonstrate it could be durable under pressure on an away ground.
While Robbie Keane's sharpshooting was flawless in delivering a 2-0 lead, there was also a lot of grappling to be done, and the refusal to reinstate Tom Huddlestone was significant as the visitors managed to shake off their worrying porousness in midfield.
Most of all, though, it was Paul Robinson's efforts that ensured security. His form has been so shaky that England's preference for giving Ben Foster some experience in the friendly with Spain this month looked as if it could be the prelude to the ditching of the senior goalkeeper. At Craven Cottage Tottenham could barely have contemplated life without him, particularly when he made two impressive saves to guard a 1-0 lead.
While his feats should stay in the mind, Keane's also go down in the record books. There was an unforgiving sharpness to each of his goals as he eluded Zat Knight, who had the distinction of the captaincy but surely wound up wishing he could have gone utterly unnoticed. He was harangued by Fulham fans at the end and yelled back at them, only to apologise later for doing so.
Keane, Knight's main tormentor, was also to be prominent in the dismissal of the substitute Vincenzo Montella after 90 minutes when, with his side 4-0 down, the frustrated Italian swung his arm more than once to try to shake off the attacker before catching him at head height. Keane received a booking from Mark Halsey for his clutching at Montella.
Robinson's own team-mates were the principal threat on his goal. Brian McBride's shot after 18 minutes ricocheted off Anthony Gardner, requiring the goalkeeper to tip the ball over the bar. The visitors' lead was still at its most slender when Robinson had to dive to stop a header from his centre-forward Mido from going into the net.
It was not until Tottenham had gone 2-0 ahead that Fulham extended Robinson, calling on him to put a Moritz Volz effort behind. While the visitors' were sound, Coleman's line-up proved to be riddled with holes. "If we keep defending like that I promise you it will turn into a relegation struggle," said the brooding Fulham manager.
He had been convinced that his men would advance to the last eight in the FA Cup and many others would have had the same premonition about this tie. Coleman was correct to note his defence had not had to shoulder any heavier a workload than Tottenham's. The errors in his ranks were of an elementary nature.
Robinson kicked long after six minutes and, as Mido headed on, Knight lost track of Keane, who smacked the bouncing ball crisply past Jan Lastuvka.
The technique of the Dubliner was beautiful once more in the 68th minute for a goal that was a close relative of the opener. This time Gardner lifted the ball forward and the nod by Mido was smacked home on the volley by Keane.
As much as the goals themselves, it was the capacity of the forward to make an impact on an exacting away game that delighted Jol. Only the introduction of Dimitar Berbatov could drag the spotlight away from Keane. The Bulgarian cut across Knight to hit the far post with a right-footed attempt and then netted the rebound with his left. Keane could not be trapped in the shadows for long and it was his flick that set Berbatov up in the 90th minute to loft home a finish.
- Guardian Service
