Young winger Simon Davies secured Tottenham Hotspur's place in the quarter-finals of the Worthington Cup with a late winner at Fulham tonight. The Premiership sides were level at 1-1 after Ukraine international Sergei Rebrov had opened the scoring for the visitors before Fulham equalised through Barry Hayles on the stroke of half-time but with just five minutes remaining Davies settled the tie with a superb volley.
Rebrov was given a rare start by Spurs boss Glenn Hoddle in the absence of regular striker Les Ferdinand and it didn't take him long to make his mark on the game. In fact, Hoddle was forced to make several changes to his line-up as Dean Richards is cup-tied while midfielder Gustavo Poyet was out with concussion. Goran Bunjevcevic, Davies and Oyvind Leonhardsen all started against a Fulham team who were also missing several of their regulars.
Both sides took their time to settle into any sort of rhythm but it was Spurs who took charge and after a mere 15 minutes they went a goal up. Teddy Sheringham showed his customary vision and touch to set up strike-partner Rebrov and the Ukrainian who has scored only once so far this season fired Spurs into the lead.
As the game progressed, Fulham began to make a greater impact on the game but it seemed as if Spurs would go in at the break with the advantage until Hayles found himself unmarked in the box and he flicked Steve Finnan's cross past Neil Sullivan to level matters with only seconds left in the first half.
That goal was just what Fulham and their muted supporters needed and the home side increased the pressure on Spurs in the second half. Hayles and Lee Clarke both went close but Sullivan was on hand to keep Spurs in the game. However, Spurs always looked dangerous on the counter-attack, with Sheringham going close on 75 minutes as he slid in on Rebrov's low cross but Taylor saved superbly.
The match looked to be heading into extra-time until Davies struck with five minutes remaining. Darren Anderton's free-kick was headed to the edge of the penalty area and Davies pounced with a first-time volley just inside the post to clinch victory.
Filed by Amanda Fennelly
