Harry’s magic takes Spurs to Wembley
TOTTENHAM V/S FULHAM
HARRY REDKNAPP weaved his magic to earn Tottenham a trip to Wembley for a third straight season.
The Spurs chief looked dejected after a disappointing opening half saw Fulham take a deserved lead through Bobby Zamora.
But he responded by introducing David Bentley, who in turn levelled the scores with a curling free-kick within just 79 seconds.
Redknapp then brought Roman Pavyluckenko into the fray and, seven minutes later, his side were in front after the Russian volleyed home Bentley’s centre.
Eidur Gudjohnsen then rounded things off with a third to ensure Spurs booked a place in next month’s Wembley semi-final against Redknapp’s former club Portsmouth.
It means Spurs have now graced the hallowed turf in each of the last two seasons after appearing in two previous Carling Cup finals.
On-loan Gudjohnsen hailed his boss, saying: “I was well happy with his last substitution, it’s a risky one putting another striker on but it worked.
“I thought it was a fantastic decision and with David getting a goal early in the second half it gave us a great boost. I thought the whole team pressed forward really well after that and we won the game.”
Fulham, meanwhile, looked slightly weary in their 50th game of the campaign, although ex-Spurs star Zamora showed his credentials to watching England boss Fabio Capello with a cool 17th minute finish from Damien Duff’s through ball.