• Premier League round-up

Spurs punish wasteful Fulham; Trotters thrash Potters

ESPN staff
November 6, 2011
Gareth Bale and Aaron Lennon scored in the first half for Spurs © PA Photos
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Tottenham Hotspur made it seven wins from their last eight Premier League matches by stealing a hard-fought 3-1 victory at Fulham.

Former Spurs boss Martin Jol saw his Fulham side dominate the majority of the game - particularly the second half - without reward, as the visitors moved level on points with fourth-placed Chelsea.

Tottenham took the lead against the run of play after 12 minutes, Kyle Walker bursting down the right before laying off to Aaron Lennon, whose back-post cross was hit venomously by Gareth Bale, causing Chris Baird to deflect the ball into his own goal.

Fulham pinned Spurs back for the ensuing half an hour, but they failed to convert territory into meaningful chances - and the visitors punished them on the stroke of half-time, Lennon surging forward and leaving Baird for dead in the box before drilling a left-footed shot into the far corner.

A serious-looking leg injury to Fulham's Zdenek Grygera prompted his withdrawal at half-time - but despite that disruption, the hosts were dominant for the first 15 minutes of the second period, and got the reward their pressure deserved on the hour. Attempting to clear a corner, Ledley King only diverted the ball into the back of Younes Kaboul's head, and it ricocheted into the net.

As in the first half, Spurs were trapped on the back foot - but this time, Fulham were far sharper going forward. Clint Dempsey looked destined to equalise on 70 minutes when he rounded Brad Friedel - only to fire wide under pressure from King.

The best chance for Fulham came in the 92nd minute, with Brad Friedel producing a miraculous save to deny Dempsey from three yards out. There was still time for another chance: Dempsey again, with his header hacked off the line by Modric.

Fulham were killed off by a 95th-minute sucker punch, with Jermain Defoe rifling in following fine work from Emmanuel Adebayor.

Kevin Davies opened the scoring early on © PA Photos
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Bolton picked up their first home Premier League win of the season at the sixth attempt by thrashing Stoke 5-0. The visitors, who made seven changes from the side that won against Maccabi Tel Aviv in the Europa League on Thursday, were up against it from an early stage following two costly errors from goalkeeper Asmir Begovic.

The Bosnian picked up a backpass and then compounded the mistake by allowing Ivan Klasnic to quickly take the free-kick from which Kevin Davies opened the scoring after two minutes. Begovic then slipped when attemping a clearance, sending the ball straight to Chris Eagles, who drilled in from a tight angle on 22 minutes.

Eagles played a pivotal role in the Trotters' third, which arrived on the hour mark, producing the pass from which Mark Davies fed scorer Klasnic. And Eagles completed a brace ten minutes later, conjuring a dinked finish having collected Klasnic's through ball.

Stoke's misery heightened further when Klasnic added a fifth, stooping to nod in a close-range header after David Wheater's header was not cleared.

In the early kick-off, David Edwards struck the killer blow as Wolves beat relegation rivals Wigan 3-1 at Molineux.

With both sides languishing at the wrong end of the table, Wolves claimed their first win in nine league matches to hand a welcome boost to manager Mick McCarthy, while Wigan have now lost their last eight Premier League encounters.

Jamie O'Hara's first-half strike was cancelled out by Ben Watson as the two sides went into the break level-pegging. But on only his third start of the season, Edwards found a way past dogged Wigan keeper Ali Al Habsi before Stephen Ward sealed all three points.

Wolves claimed their first win in nine © PA Photos
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In a dramatic period of play, Hugo Rodallega squandered a gilt-edged chance to put Wigan ahead just moments before O'Hara gave Wolves the lead after half-an-hour. Franco di Santo's chipped pass was controlled superbly by the Colombian, but one-on-one with Wolves keeper Wayne Hennessey, he prodded the ball wide. From the ensuing goal-kick, Wolves burst forward, and Kevin Doyle's low cross from the right was met by O'Hara, who slammed the ball home from close range.

But their lead was short-lived. Emmerson Boyce was bundled over in the box by Stephen Hunt, and although Watson's spot-kick was saved by Hennessey, the Wigan man pounced to grab the rebound.

Al Habsi was frequently called upon to keep the Latics in the contest, but after two tremendous saves - a reflex stop from Hunt before palming away O'Hara's header - he was helpless to stop Edwards slamming home from eight yards.

Wolves' third was painfully similar for Wigan boss Roberto Martinez as the ball ping-ponged around in the box - Edwards' initial strike was blocked before O'Hara's effort was well saved but Ward was on hand to make it three.

It could have been more for Wolves had it not been for the heroics of Al Habsi, who pulled off a stunning save to keep Christophe Berra's bullet header out from O'Hara's whipped free-kick.

© ESPN Sports Media Ltd.
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