- English Barclays Premier League
- 13 May 2012, 3:00pm
- White Hart Lane
- Attendance: 36,256
Tottenham | v | Fulham |
2
| 0 |
live commentary
90 mins:Spurs win but Arsenal's victory means it's a fourth place finish for Spurs.
90 mins:Three minutes of added time have been signaled.
88 mins:Fulham go close again as Dembele rattles the crossbar.
87 mins:Duff lashes a shot against the upright.
86 mins:Kasami's effort is blocked.
84 mins:Bar Defoe's goal this second half hasn't really got going.
82 mins:Bale sends the ball down the line but Spurs can't progress.
80 mins:Schwarzer gets a punch onto Lennon's cross.
78 mins:Frei's shot from Kasami's knockdown is over the bar.
76 mins:Youngster Smith comes on for Kaboul.
74 mins:Diarra drags his shot wide.
72 mins:Lennon blocks Duff's cross.
70 mins:Defoe looks for a second but his bending effort is over the bar.
67 mins:Kasami comes on for Murphy.
65 mins:Spurs are in control of this game but with Arsenal winning a top-three place is out of reach.
63 mins:Defoe is in the right place to put the ball in the net after Lennon's effort is blocked.
60 mins:Van der Vaart is replaced by Defoe.
59 mins:This game has gone flat momentarily.
57 mins:Arsenal are leading 3-2 through Koscielny.
55 mins:Diarra has picked up a knock.
54 mins:Adebayor looks to burst through but is flagged offside.
52 mins:Sandro's header is straight at Schwarzer after he met Gallas' cross.
50 mins:Nelsen comes on for Walker.
49 mins:Walker looks to be struggling at the moment. Will he be substituted?
48 mins:Modric's cross is headed out by Hughes at the expense of a corner.
46 mins:Lennon is fouled by Murphy. Murphy is shown yellow.
45 mins:We're underway in the second half.
45 mins:Spurs lead at the break but Fulham finished the half well.
44 mins:Bale's shot from distance is parried by Schwarzer.
42 mins:Dembele looks to go past Walker but fouls the Tottenham man.
40 mins:Diarra fires over the crossbar.
39 mins:Friedel is called into action again, this time to save from Dembele.
38 mins:John Arne Riise breaks down the left before unleashing a shot that Friedel saves.
37 mins:Modric looks to pick out Van der Vaart but can't find his team-mate.
34 mins:Van der Vaart unleashes an effort that flies just wide.
32 mins:It's 2-2 at the Hawthorns, Santos equalising after Dorrans gave the home side the lead.
30 mins:Friedel gets to the ball first after Duff drills the ball into the area.
28 mins:Van der Vaart's free kick is straight into the wall.
26 mins:Hangeland's challenge on Adebayor earns him a yellow.
24 mins:Dembele's progress is halted by Sandro.
22 mins:Diarra presses well to win possession for the visitors.
19 mins:Walker's low free kick is into the side netting.
17 mins:Sandro is just unable to make contact with Lennon's cross.
15 mins:It's all Spurs at the moment. The visitors have hardly seen the ball.
13 mins:News from the Hawthorns is West Brom have leveled terms.
11 mins:Bale forces a save out of Schwarzer after latching onto a rebound.
9 mins:Spurs win a corner as Sandro is tackled.
9 mins:Modric's corner is headed away.
9 mins:Modric hits a corner to the near post but Fulham clear.
7 mins:Lennon bursts forward but his progress is halted on the edge of the area.
5 mins:The news has come through from the Hawthorns that North London rivals Arsenal have taken the lead against West Brom.
2 mins:Adebayor slides the ball home after a clever 1-2 with Van der Vaart.
Spurs make just one change, Livermore replacing the suspended Rose.
For Fulham Frei comes in for the injured Dempsey.
Referee Phil Dowd gets us underway.
- English Barclays Premier League
- 13 May 2012, 3:00pm
- White Hart Lane
- Attendance: 36,256
| Tottenham | v | Fulham |
2
| 0 |
match report
Tottenham face an anxious wait to learn whether they will be playing Champions League football next season despite an easy 2-0 win over Fulham.
Emmanuel Adebayor slotted home in the second minute to put Spurs ahead at White Hart Lane and substitute Jermain Defoe wrapped up the win in the second half.
Arsenal's win at West Brom meant Harry Redknapp's team finished fourth in the Premier League but they will be denied a place in Europe's top club competition next season if Chelsea beat Bayern Munich in the Champions League final on Saturday.
For most of the afternoon a party atmoshpere took hold of White Hart Lane as Spurs looked to finish above Arsenal for the first time since 1995.
Although Spurs have beaten their fifth-place finish from last season, many will feel they should have pipped their neighbours to third after going on an unbeaten 11-match run towards the end of 2011.
At one point in January, Spurs were on the verge of going 13 points clear of Arsenal but in the end, a terrible run of one win in nine during the second half of the season means Tottenham may now end up playing in the Europa League next season.
Today victory never seemed in doubt for the Londoners.
Any hopes Martin Jol had of seeing Fulham take an early advantage were quashed after 96 seconds thanks to Adebayor's opener.
The former Arsenal man exchanged passes with Rafael van der Vaart and surged in to the box before slotting past Mark Schwarzer to spark wild celebrations.
Spurs continued to dominate but the atmosphere became a little subdued as news of Yossi Benayoun's opening strike for Arsenal filtered through.
A double salvo from West Brom sparked huge celebrations among the home crowd and Spurs almost moved further ahead themselves when Aaron Lennon's cross just missed Van der Vaart's head.
Luka Modric skipped past two players in to the box and his deflected effort fell in to Gareth Bale's path but Schwarzer smothered the Welshman's shot.
Arsenal's second equaliser sent nerves jangling and Fulham started to get in to the game more.
Brad Friedel gathered Stephen Kelly's cross as Pavel Pogrebnyak lurked at the back post but Spurs hit on the counter through Lennon, who found Van der Vaart via Adebayor, but the Dutchman volleyed barely an inch wide.
Eight minutes before the break Friedel saved well from John Arne Riise and Mousa Dembele in quick succession as the Cottagers ended the first half on top.
Kyle Walker collapsed holding his right foot in the 45th minute but elected to stay on.
Schwarzer saved a powerful shot from Bale moments later and the 22-year-old skied the rebound.
Walker emerged at the start of the second half but could only manage four more minutes before coming off for Ryan Nelsen.
Lennon beat his marker down the right and crossed for Sandro but the Brazilian headed straight at Schwarzer from eight yards.
Again the atmosphere went flat the news of Laurent Koscielny's goal for Arsenal.
The news - which Redknapp greeted by smashing his right fist in to the palm of his left hand - meant Spurs dropped to fourth in the table.
The 65-year-old was angered even more seconds later as the Spurs defence backed off, allowing Dembele to hit a powerful strike that beat Friedel but struck a post.
Redknapp could breathe easy again in the 63rd minute when Lennon's shot deflected in to Defoe's path off John Arne Riise and the England striker stabbed past Schwarzer from 10 yards.
Young right-back Adam Smith came on to make his debut 14 minutes from the end after Younes Kaboul hobbled off with an injury.
Gallas flicked Pogrebnyak's cross wide with five minutes to go, but other than that there was little action in the final quarter as the home crowd waited anxiously for news of an equaliser at the Hawthorns.
Friedel saved well from Damien Duff at the near post with four minutes left and the former Liverpool man pulled off a stunning save to deny Dembele soon after.
The game turned in to something of a procession and, much to Spurs' frustration, West Brom could not find a third goal against Arsenal.
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