Matchday 19 ~ Tottenham vs Fulham

[Freddy Adu]

Keane reaches a century as Tottenham run riot


Written by: AFP

	Tottenham Hotspur striker Robbie Keane runs with the ball during their Premiership match against Fulham at White Hart Lane in north London. Keane scored his 100th Premier League goal as Tottenham crushed struggling Fulham 5-1.

LONDON (AFP) - Robbie Keane scored his 100th Premier League goal as Tottenham crushed struggling Fulham 5-1 on Wednesday.

Republic of Ireland striker Keane and Tom Huddlestone both scored twice at White Hart Lane, while club captain Ledley King made his long-awaited comeback from injury.

Second half substitute Jermain Defoe competed the scoring in the 90th minute, rounding off an excellent Tottenham move.

Fulham scored a goal through American international Clint Dempsey, but it was scant consolation for the Cottagers, who also had defender Moritz Volz sent off four minutes from time for a second booking.

King was named in the starting line-up for the first time this season after overcoming knee surgery and a thigh injury. It was only the England defender's seventh appearance for Tottenham in exactly a year due to injury problems.

King, who had only played in one reserve team fixture before this game, ironically against Fulham earlier this month, started alongside Younes Kaboul in defence.

Going into this fixture, Tottenham were enjoying a resurgence of form under manager Juande Ramos. The Spaniard replaced Martin Jol at the end of October and has since seen his side lose just twice in 12 games.

By stark contrast, Fulham's run of results have been poor and the performances cost former manager Lawrie Sanchez his job.

The former Northern Ireland manager saw his contract terminated by Fulham chairman Mohamed Al-Fayed last week, with Ray Lewington and Billy McKinlay handed temporary charge.

The search for a full-time manager is well underway with John Collins, who resigned as Hibernian manager last week, Terry Venables and Graeme Souness all in the frame.

The caretaker duo of Lewington and McKinlay first had to deal with ending Fulham's unenviable away record. They have not won on their Premier League travels for over a year.

That unwelcome statistic looked destined to be prolonged in the 24th minute when Dimitar Berbatov connected with former Fulham midfield player, Steed Malbranque's inviting cross. The striker's downwards header looked goal-bound but he was denied by an excellent save by Antti Niemi.

Spurs sensed they were close to making the breakthrough and after a good spell of pressure, Keane deservedly put them in front in the 26th minute. The striker, who missed a crucial penalty in Tottenham's defeat to Arsenal last Saturday, drilled a left-footed shot past Niemi after Malbranque's effort had cannoned back off the post.

In first half stoppage time, Malbranque beat Chris Baird before feeding Berbatov. He laid the ball off for Huddlestone to slot home from the edge of the area.

The two goal advantage was no less than Spurs deserved, as Fulham failed to even hit the target, with Dempsey, Steven Davis and Chris Baird all firing over the bar.

Fulham introduced Hameur Bouazza after the break and the midfield player made a significant impact. He made a surging run down the left wing before crossing for Dempsey, who slid the ball past Paul Robinson from close range.

But Fulham's joy was short-lived as Keane restored Tottenham's two goal advantage with his landmark goal. The Republic of Ireland striker kneed the ball over the line after Berbatov had flicked on Jamie O'Hara's corner kick.

Tottenham then made it 4-1 when Huddlestone his scored his second of the match in the 70th minute. Aaron Lennon beat Konchesky for pace before passing to the midfield player, who drove the ball into the bottom of the corner from 20 yards out.

Defoe gave Ramos a timely reminder of his pedigree when scored with a low finish from Huddlestone's pass.

[Freddy Adu]

Ramos treats King with care


Written by: AFP

	Tottenham Hotspur footballer Ledley King (R) vies with Fulham footballer Clint Dempsey (L) during their Premiership match at White Hart Lane in North London, England, 26 December 2007. Tottenham manager Juande Ramos admitted he will have to treat Ledley King with care after the England defender finally returned from injury. King made his long-awaited comeback in Wednesday´s 5-1 win over Fulham at White Hart Lane.

LONDON (AFP) - Tottenham manager Juande Ramos admitted he will have to treat Ledley King with care after the England defender finally returned from injury.

King made his long-awaited comeback in Wednesday's 5-1 win over Fulham at White Hart Lane.

The Spurs captain played for 73 minutes after overcoming knee surgery and then a thigh injury. It was only his seventh appearance for Tottenham in a year.

Ramos will now see how King reacts before deciding on whether he can play against Reading on Saturday.

"Ledley is still getting better. We needed him to play because we did not have enough defensive players and you can see the influence he brings to the team," Ramos said.

"To have a player like him in defence is great because he has a lot of international experience and knows the players well, but physically he has to get used to the tempo of the game.

"We will see how his knee is getting on and that depends on whether he can play again at the weekend."

Ramos also praised Tom Huddlestone for losing weight and proving he is capable of holding down a place in the first team.

The midfield player, who rarely featured under previous Spurs manager Martin Jol, showed off his new streamline figure by scoring two excellent goals in Wednesday's rout.

Huddlestone, who joined Tottenham from Derby for two million pounds in 2005, was placed on a strict diet by Ramos and it is now beginning to reap the benefits.

He scored his first when he thundered the ball past Fulham goalkeeper Antti Niemi in first half stoppage time after neat work by Steed Marbranque. His second was even better.

Aaron Lennon beat Paul Konchesky for pace before passing to Huddlestone, who drove the ball into the bottom of the corner from 20 yards out.

His man of the match performance was warmly received by Ramos, who said after the match: "Tom has been magnificent. He has excellent ball control and had a really good performance today and participated a lot in the match.

"His weight was something which worried us a lot at the beginning but you can see now he is making a real effort to be fitter. You can see the results in his performances.

"We are happy that there are players on the team who have slimmed down quite a bit and the rest of the squad appreciate that because we needed that to happen."

The match was also memorable for Tottenham striker Robbie Keane, who scored twice to take his career Premier League goals tally to the 100 mark.

Second half substitute Jermain Defoe wrapped up the scoring late on with a low finish from Huddlestone’s pass. Clint Dempsey had earlier scored a consolation goal for Fulham, but their misery was compounded when Mortiz Volz was sent off after receiving two bookings.

Caretaker Fulham manager Ray Lewington was left downcast by the defeat and warned his players that they need to improve against Birmingham on Saturday.

He said: "If they play like that they will get relegated but I hope they won't.

"Everything that could go wrong, went wrong against Spurs. We are realistic to know that the performance was no good either. We've got to put it right.

"I don't know if I will stay in charge this weekend but if Fulham make a change before then, fine."