Live Boxing Day Match Centre: Fulham v. Tottenham

Full-time at Craven Cottage: Both keepers were the men of the match on the day, as the chances were there, but were either not taken or denied wonderfully. A draw was a fair result, and now Fulham have had three consecutive clean sheets. No one likes a 0-0 draw, but that’s also what was the result of the Birmingham City - Chelsea game. West Ham comprehensively beat Portsmouth 2-0 at Upton Park. We’ll keep you updated on the rest of this Boxing Day’s action. Happy Holidays once again from A Football Report.

93’ - And Bassong is up and off the field. Ledley King comes on for a short run about.

90’ - 2 Minutes of added time, and Fulham are being roared on. Gera just tried a bicycle kick, and Bassong looks like he has been knocked out cold. Oh dear.

89’ - Beautiful interchange by Fulham. Zamora holds the ball up for Duff, who overlaps Zamora swiftly. Duff then has an effort to the far-post, which went wide. Dempsey almost crashed onto Duff’s effort as well.

88’ - With the defences and goalkeepers on top form, a nil-nil draw looks imminent. Still a few minutes to go.

86’ - Only a few minutes left in this London derby. Pantsil serves up the cross, and Zamora controls well in the box. Michael Dawson steps in, but the Fulham fans complain that Bobby was being held unfairly.

82’ - INCREDIBLE DOUBLE-SAVE! Crouch hits a first time half-volley from 23 yards, but Schwarzer shuffles it wide and then dives onto Jenas’ follow up effort. Tottenham could have stolen three points just then, but the goalkeeper is the hero.

80’ - Ten minutes left to play. As a unit, Fulham has been great defensively. There is constant pressure whenever a Tottenham player has the ball.

78’ - Konchesky does well to shove Lennon off and keep the ball in. He then lies it off the Dempsey, who gives to Gera. Gera gives it away though. Good play from Fulham.

76’ - The tempo on the pitch just dropped a bit. Both teams seem content with a point, but with the fans shouting “Come On, Fulham” how can you stop running?

72’ - Jermaine Defoe, with his first touch of the game, tries an awkward bicycle kick sort of attempt, which excites the traveling Spurs fans. He’s exactly what Spurs need at the moment.

70’ - Duff lays it again for Zamora, who this time nods it on goal and forces Gomes into another great save. Luka Modric is coming on for Niko Kranjcar. Robbie Keane is off as Defoe makes his way onto the pitch.

69’ - Hangeland portrays his strength, leading another great counter-attack for Fulham. Duff to Zamora to Dempsey, who hits it first time. Good save by Gomes though.

66’ - Duff swings in a Fulham free-kick, but Hangeland misses it. Goal kick to Spurs.

65’ - Crouch has an effort from 30 yards, which goes over the bar. Neither him nor Keane look dangerous at the moment. Come on Harry, bring on your leading scorer!

63’ - Pantsil leaves it for Duff, who swings in an excellent cross for Bobby Zamora. Zamora uses his strength to rise above Michael Dawson, and forces Gomes to make a fine save. Best chance of the half so far.

59’ - Neither team in this second half is really pushing for a win at the moment. Scrappy play, and both Hodgson and Redknapp must be thinking something needs changing. Defoe? Andrew Johnson? Luka Modric? That would add a quite spark to this affair.

56’ - Pantsil shows his showboating skills and leads a sequence of deft touches between Fulham players. Gera and Palacios seemed to get in a tussle off the ball.

54’ - Crouch does well to lay a ball for Jenas. Jenas attempts to curl a shot to Schwarzer’s far post, but it goes wide.

52’ - Wilson Palacios clashes heads with Zamora, and Bobby is not too happy about that one. The replay shows that it was a fair challenge by the Honduran.

50’ - Brede Hangeland apparently aggravated something during the pre-game training, and he does not look comfortable out there. He’s signaling to the bench that he can’t make it 90 minutes.

48’ - Pantsil gets a bit of revenge against Peter Crouch, slamming into the adverts. That’s a well-deserved yellow card.

46’ - We’re back. Fulham are unbeaten in their last 7 games, and at the moment they look to extend that to 8.

Half-time: Clint Dempsey came the closest with a brilliant free-kick, but honestly very little between the sides. You probably have to say the Fulham have had the upper-hand, but don’t count out Spurs just yet. With Jermaine Defoe on the bench, Harry Redknapp has quite the ace up his sleeve. In other Boxing Day action, West Ham leads Portsmouth 1-0, and Birmingham is tied 0-0 with Chelsea at St. Andrews.

45’ - 1 Minute of added time. Fair enough. It has been non-stop action so far. Kranjcar has an effort from 30 yards out. He has looked dangerous, but his effort was tame and went well wide.

44’ - Well in by Aaron Hughes as he deflects Robbie Keane’s cross out for a Tottenham corner.

43’ - Dempsey orchestrating the midfield consistently. The Tottenham defenders don’t want to deal with him and are giving him space to dribble. Based on the half he’s having, I would say that is a bad idea.

41’ - The attacking play hasn’t been bad at all this half, you just have to say the defensive play has been excellent.

39’ - Bobby Zamora meets Gera’s little chip pass with a cheeky first-time volley from 20 yards out. A good effort, but it goes over the bar.

38’ - Keane gives to Lennon. Lennon then swings it in for Crouch, who nods it down. But Hangeland gets a last-ditch challenge in. Great defending.

37’ - Konchesky’s free-kick bounces around in the Tottenham box, but Gera, once again, scuffs a great chance from just outside the box.

36’ - Corluka takes down Dempsey, free-kick to Fulham.

34’ - Dempsey steps up for a free-kick, and doesn’t he strike that magnificently! The strike hits the top-right corner of Gomes’ bar from some 30 yards out. Dempsey hold his head in disbelief, but he should be proud of that effort.

32’ - Sloppy play from both sides at the moment. Neither side can find any sense of rhythm.

28’ - Robbie Keane tries to get behind the Fulham back-four, but is caught offside. The sun has now come out at the Cottage in the ever-improving atmosphere.

26’ - Tottenham now forcing Fulham to counter-attack as Spurs are dominating possession. Harry Redknapp looks displeased as always.

24’ - Great build-up by Fulham. But the ball falls to Clint Dempsey from 20 yards out, and it’s a poor effort wide.

21’ - Bobby Zamora took a dodgy elbow, and gets looked at by the physio. He’ll carry on just fine.

20’ - Kranjcar hit the free-kick very well. Oof that’s close, and Schwarzer had no chance. Just wide though. Lucky sequence for Fulham.

19’ - Crouch scores spectacularly! But no, referee Steve Bennett had blew his whistle for a foul on Kranjcar. Free-kick to Tottenham. Very good position, 23 yards out.

16’ - Schwarzer scuffs his clearance, smacking Robbie Keane is the back. The ball, luckily, falls back to the Fulham keeper. Clint Dempsey then wins a corner for Fulham.

15’ - Fulham on top at the moment. Duff is taken down from behind by Kranjcar, free-kick to Fulham that results in open play.

13’ - Clint Dempsey beats the Spurs midfield down the middle of the park, but his shot from 30 yards doesn’t match his dribbling technique.

12’ - Chances now for Fulham! Danny Murphy forces Gomes into a great save with a left-footed effort from 17 yards out. Then Chris Baird nods the ensuing corner just wide of the Spurs post.

11’ - Duff whips in a cross, and after a few touches Dempsey leaves it for Gera. But Palacios is able to get a touch on the shot. Fulham corner.

8’ - Zoltan Gera has the cheekiest backheel effort on goal, Denis Law-style (look it up on Youtube). Great counter attack led by Dempsey, then Pantsil drove the cross in.

6’ - Murphy gets a word from the referee for taking down Aaron Lennon. No one in their 30s should have to defend Lennon.

4’ - Kranjcar smacks the free-kick with a hopeful effort on goal. A good effort, but easily held by Schwarzer.

3’ - Crouch wastes a chance as he gets his header terribly wrong. Danny Murphy brings down Jenas, and now Tottenham have a free-kick from about 35 yards.

1’ - And we’re off! Perfect footballing conditions. Damien Duff hits a half-volley sweetly from about 20 yards. Well saved by Gomes.

Kickoff: And we’re all set for a breathtaking 90 minutes! Round 19 of the Barclays Premier League. Nothing like a London Derby on Boxing Day.

Before Kickoff Comments: Roy Hodgson decides to stick with the same team which impressively beat Manchester United last time out. The Cottagers do have striker Andrew Johnson back as a substitute. Harry Redknapp drops Jermain Defoe to the bench and he is replaced with Robbie Keane in attack. Tom Huddlestone is another to make way as Jermaine Jenas comes in for him in midfield.

Team Line-Ups:

Fulham: Schwarzer, Pantsil, Hughes, Hangeland, Konchesky, Duff, Murphy, Baird, Gera, Dempsey, Zamora. Subs: Stockdale, Andrew Johnson, Nevland, Etuhu, Smalling, Greening, Kallio.
Tottenham: Gomes, Corluka, Dawson, Bassong, Assou-Ekotto, Lennon, Jenas, Palacios, Kranjcar, Keane, Crouch. Subs: Alnwick, Bale, Huddlestone, Pavlyuchenko, Modric, Defoe, King.

Pregame Coverage: Sitting in 9th place, just below Liverpool with a game in hand, Fulham continue to exceed expectations. Fresh off a spectacular 3-0 victory over Sir Alex Ferguson’s side, Fulham hope to produce the same great form against Harry Redknapp’s side. Tottenham, although being disciplined by Harry Redknapp for hosting an unauthorized Christmas party, are also in good form coming off a 2-0 win over Blackburn at Ewood Park.

While many objective observers believe Tottenham are capable of finishing in 4th and qualifying for the Champions League, Fulham continues to defy all logic. Craven Cottage boasts one of the best home field advantages in the Premier League, with a Turf Moor-esque atmosphere. Fulham boss Roy Hodgson is again likely to be without the services of Diomansy Kamara (knee), Simon Davies (ankle) and Andrew Johnson (groin). Tottenham's Luka Modric’s ankle injury required an injection so he is out along with David Bentley, who has a calf strain.

Random Interesting Statistics! Fulham have only picked up one point on Boxing Day in the last five years, a 0-0 draw away to Spurs last year. Tottenham have only won one of their last seven matches against Fulham, 5-1 on Boxing Day in 2007.