RSS
ATOM
advertisement
Tottenham 4-0 Bolton: Stuart Holden Debuts In Loss
Own goals galore as Spurs progress past Trotters.
Feb 24, 2010 4:50:00 PM
By Stephen Darwin
Roman Pavlyuchenko made it 13 goals in 13 cup games as he helped Tottenham Hotspur overcome Bolton Wanderers 4-0 with two composed finishes in the FA Cup fifth round replay at White Hart Lane.
A goal in each half from the Russian striker and two own goals ensured that the side who are currently sitting in fourth spot in the Premier League can now look forward to a London derby against Fulham in the quarter-final of the FA Cup.
A strong looking Spurs side took the game to their Premier League counterparts from the off, with Sebastien Bassong fashioning the first real attempt at goal of the match after seven minutes.
After having stepped out from center-back unchallenged, the Cameroon star proceeded to shoot from distance only to see his effort dip just over the top of Jussi Jaaskelainen's crossbar.
The visitors, who were without influential striker Kevin Davies, responded well when in the 12th minute Matt Taylor escaped in behind Gareth Bale only to see his low effort bundled behind by Tottenham goalkeeper Gomes.
Spurs were enjoying much of the possession during the early exchanges although lacked any real cutting edge and they were nearly punished following a slack piece of play from full-back Bale.
The Welshman casually gave away possession straight to Ivan Klasnic and the one-time Werder Bremen forward was extremely unlucky not to find the target with a fizzing drive from 25-yards out that would have certainly caused Gomes a problem.
But It was the home side who took the lead, however, courtesy of in-form striker Pavlyuchenko. Fresh from his brace against Wigan Athletic at the weekend, the Russian turned Zat Knight with ease following Luka Modric's clever pass before steadying himself and slotting past Jaaskelainen.
Despite taking the lead, Harry Redknapp's side almost gifted Bolton an equalizer just a minute later when Modric gave the ball straight to Ricardo Gardener although fortunately for the home faithful, the Trotters man failed to test Gomes.
Tottenham were continuing to control proceedings and were close to doubling their lead after 29 minutes. Modric slid the ball through to Jermain Defoe and after cutting inside Andy O'Brien, the England attacker unleashed a shot from inside the area but Jaaskelainen was on hand to make the save.
The north London outfit did eventually double their lead and Defoe was again involved. The ex-Portsmouth hitman looked to have diverted Bassong's teasing low cross into the net although replays clearly showed that the ball had in fact been diverted home by the unfortunate Jaaskelainen.
Bolton were struggling to create anything of note in front of goal towards the end of the first half although Klasnic did come close shortly before half-time when he forced Gomes into a decent save after good work from Fabrice Muamba.
Tottenham effectively put the tie beyond Bolton almost immediately after the whistle for the start of the second half as O'Brien scored the second own goal of the evening.
Gareth Bale's low driven cross was delivered into the perfect area and former Newcastle United defender O'Brien could only slide the ball past Jaaskelainen as he attempted to clear.
Redknapp's charges continued to dominate proceedings and Pavlyuchenko was unlucky not to grab his second of the night when his left footed strike from range was fumbled by Jaaskelainen only for the Finn to gather at the second attempt.
Substitute Eidur Gudjohnsen thought he had scored his first goal for his new club on the hour mark when he raced through and slotted home only to be flagged for offside.
Mustapha Riga, a second half replacement for Gardner, then came close on two occasions within the space of a minute when he first scuffed wide from Johan Elmander's flick-on before tamely shooting straight at Gomes moments later after cutting in from the left.
Croatian playmaker Modric then combined with Pavlyuchenko and side footed an effort inches wide before Riga once again squandered two clear-cut chances for Owen Coyle's side.
The Dutch winger blazed horribly over the top after a neat interchange between debutant Stuart Holden and Elmander and then, just moments later, Riga failed to beat Gomes from point-blank range with a headed effort.
Gudjohnsen once again came close against his former club midway through the second half when he instinctively diverted Bale's cross towards goal, forcing an impressive reaction save from Jaaskelainen.
Despite the scoreline, the Trotters continued to pour forward and were frequently causing problems for Michael Dawson and co at the heart of the Spurs defense. This time Holden reacted to Elmander's flick but he did little with his header and Gomes didn't have to move to make a comfortable save.
Pavlyuchenko sealed the victory for Spurs when he made it 4-0 with just minutes remaining. The former Spartak Moscow striker was picked out by Danny Rose and he kept his composure to once again beat Jaaskelainen from close range.
Get all the latest FA Cup news with Goal.com's England page.
Thank you for your comment!
Please enter your name
Please enter your location
Please share your comment!
4 Comments
Advertisement
Inside Goal.Com
-
DEMPSEY'S DIARY: Playing in the World Cup was the ultimate dream
In his latest diary entry for Goal.com, the U.S. international and Fulham midfielder talks about playing in his first World Cup despite a back injury and what it meant to score.
-
ROGERS: Capello resigns as coach, but the villain is FA chairman Bernstein
Capello and John Terry are far from blameless in the England saga, but the real culprit is the FA chairman.
-
LABIDOU: Is MLS falling behind? The league's new younger direction
With high-profile players like Nicolas Anelka and Luca Toni rejecting MLS for other developing leagues, is the league falling behind its competition?
-
ROSANO: Mexican soccer needs to address referee treatment
Nick Rosano argues that Mexico's continued officiating problems may have less to do with referees themselves and more to do with how they are treated by the federation.
-
VERTELNEY: MLS owners take to Twitter to spread their team's word
"Any time you tweet, it's a mini press conference," says Portland Timbers owner Merritt Paulson.
Advertisement
Advertisement
