Fulham extended their unbeaten run to eight games as they held Tottenham to a 0-0 draw at White Hart Lane.
Cottagers grind out goalless draw
Fulham extended their unbeaten run to eight games as they held Tottenham to a goalless draw at White Hart Lane.
Tottenham came closest to breaking the deadlock in the first half as Mark Schwarzer pulled off a terrific save to deny Aaron Lennon.
The home team continued to push forward after the break but Fulham defended masterfully to restrict their opportunities.
Heurelho Gomes had little to do at the other end but was forced to make an important stop from Andy Johnson late on.
Injuries
There was little in the way of early goalmouth action and the only thing of note was Benoit Assou-Ekotto's new hairstyle - a huge afro with a shock of blonde.
The most significant incidents of the first 45 minutes were injuries to key midfielders on both sides: Spurs' best passer Tom Huddlestone and Fulham's driving force in Jimmy Bullard.
Even before they had headed down the tunnel, there was no momentum to the game.
David Bentley tried his luck from long range and Schwarzer stopped with his chest after the effort took a wicked bounce - that was the sum total of the early action.
Jermaine Jenas, on for Huddlestone, fired over the crossbar from 25 yards; then Luka Modric went closer with a drive that went just past the post after a run that saw him wriggle through Chris Baird and Danny Murphy.
Schwarzer pulled off a stunning save after Assou-Ekotto raided down the left and pulled the ball back for Lennon to meet first time on the volley.
Intensity
Lennon then crossed for Ledley King to head just wide as the intensity lifted slightly.
Fulham's first meaningful effort came from an athletic scissor-kick from Clint Dempsey that Gomes threw himself at, tipping the spectacular effort over the crossbar.
The visitors were appealing for a penalty when Vedran Corluka held Bobby Zamora just after the break - but Peter Walton waved play on, as he did in the opening half when Johnson went over in the area.
Nothing was working for either side, with Modric's flicks failing to come off and passes from his team-mates going astray.
Powerful
Murphy then saw Zamora free but his ball over Spurs' defence was too powerful, while Paul Konchesky went wide with a long-range free-kick.
Redknapp's response was to bring on Fraizer Campbell, with the striker on loan from Manchester United replacing Bentley.
Substitute Dickson Etuhu tried his luck from 25 yards but the drive rose above Gomes' crossbar; then Modric headed wide from Assou-Ekotto's cross from the left.
Roman Pavlyuchenko was brought on for Darren Bent and the Russian's first touch was a shot that deflected wide for a corner.
Gomes saved from Johnson with five minutes remaining after the striker got behind King.
| Tottenham Hotspur |
Team Statistics |
Fulham |
| 0 |
Goals |
0 |
| 0 |
1st Half Goals |
0 |
| 4 |
Shots on Target |
4 |
| 7 |
Shots off Target |
3 |
| 3 |
Blocked Shots |
3 |
| 4 |
Corners |
2 |
| 8 |
Fouls |
13 |
| 4 |
Offsides |
4 |
| 0 |
Yellow Cards |
1 |
| 0 |
Red Cards |
0 |
| 75.9 |
Passing Success |
71.9 |
| 15 |
Tackles |
15 |
| 93.3 |
Tackles Success |
86.7 |
| 58.2 |
Possession |
41.8 |
| 49.2 |
Territorial Advantage |
50.8 |
|
