Harry Redknapp's honeymoon period as Tottenham manager came to a crashing end at Fulham.
Brazilian again at fault as Spurs fall to defeat
Harry Redknapp's honeymoon period as Tottenham manager came to a crashing end at Fulham, as a calamitous piece of goalkeeping from Heurelho Gomes laid the foundations for their 2-1 defeat.
Roy Hodgson's Cottagers were much the better side over the 90 minutes but it will be Gomes' gaffe rather than their excellence that will dominate the back pages.
There seemed to be little danger when Simon Davies clipped in a nothing delivery from deep in the 35th minute, but via the slightest of deflections off Jonathan Woodgate, Spurs' goalkeeper somehow managed to allow the ball to slip through his hands.
After the half-time break there was scant improvement from Redknapp's side as Andy Johnson fired in from close range to punish some more ponderous defending 20 minutes from time.
Spurs substitute Fraizer Campbell made for a nervous finale when he finished well nine minutes from time, for his third goal in two games, but this time there was to be no comeback as Redknapp's revolution slowed to a halt.
Bright start
The home side engineered the first real chance of the afternoon in the 12th minute when some neat footwork from Johnson left Jonathan Woodgate well beaten.
Johnson pulled the ball back from the byline but Danny Murphy's shot was blocked by Vedran Corluka.
Moments later a tremendous 25-yard shot from Clint Dempsey was acrobatically tipped over by Gomes.
Paul Konchesky did well to clear the ball under pressure form Jermaine Jenas as Spurs finally managed to put a clever move together. A shot from Jimmy Bullard was cleared by Woodgate in the 21st minute after Bobby Zamora's knock down had presented him with the chance.
Moments later Gomes had to rush out to collect the ball from the feet of Johnson after a delightful chip from Zamora had set the former Everton striker off in pursuit of an opening.
Tottenham were struggling to find any composure and their high balls in to Darren Bent were dealt with comfortably by Fulham's defence.
Spurs should have taken the lead in the 29th minute when Luka Modric's intended cross was deflected off John Pantsil and into the path of Bentley.
The Spurs winger's volley beat Mark Schwarzer but fell just the wrong side of the upright.
Seconds later Bent should have done better when a long pass from Tom Huddlestone fell at his feet inside the penalty area. However, the Spurs striker only half-connected with the ball and Schwarzer held on to the shot.
But Fulham were ahead in the 32nd minute thanks to a disastrous blunder from Gomes. Davies sent a teasing cross into the penalty area and after taking a slight deflection off the head of Woodgate, Gomes allowed the ball to slip through his grasp and into the net.
Disastrous mistake
The goal was credited to former Spurs midfielder Davies, although it was clearly thrown into the net by Gomes.
Redknapp made two changes during the interval as Aaron Lennon replaced Modric and Roman Pavlyuchenko was brought on for Huddlestone.
The changes almost had an instant effect as Lennon burst down the left and crossed for Pavlyuchenko but the Russian striker just failed to connect.
Gomes partially redeemed himself in the 53rd minute when he pulled off a fine save to keep out a ferocious Bullard free-kick.
Tottenham's changes appeared to hinder rather than help them as they still failed to impose themselves on the game. Fulham's inventiveness continued to keep Spurs on the back foot and heading for their first defeat under Redknapp.
They were lucky to escape a penalty appeal in the 62nd minute when King appeared to handle the ball inside the area. Spurs started to apply some pressure on the Fulham goal and King was unlucky with a volley that went just too high in the 66th minute.
Moments later Woodgate was penalised some 20 yards out for bringing down Johnson but Bullard's lofted free-kick was collected easily by Gomes. But Fulham had raised the tempo once again and when Spurs failed to clear Konchesky's corner, Johnson pounced to score their second from six yards in the 69th minute.
Redknapp replaced Bent with rookie striker Campbell and he rewarded the manager with a well-taken strike in the 80th minute but it was too little too late to save Spurs.
| Fulham |
Team Statistics |
Tottenham Hotspur |
| 2 |
Goals |
1 |
| 1 |
1st Half Goals |
0 |
| 13 |
Shots on Target |
2 |
| 3 |
Shots off Target |
3 |
| 6 |
Blocked Shots |
5 |
| 10 |
Corners |
3 |
| 8 |
Fouls |
10 |
| 1 |
Offsides |
4 |
| 1 |
Yellow Cards |
0 |
| 0 |
Red Cards |
0 |
| 75.7 |
Passing Success |
74.9 |
| 21 |
Tackles |
18 |
| 71.4 |
Tackles Success |
66.7 |
| 49.4 |
Possession |
50.6 |
| 56.2 |
Territorial Advantage |
43.8 |
|
