London: Tottenham have reached the fifth round of the FA Cup after Rafael van der Vaart's first-half strike secured victory over Watford. Harry Redknapp's men failed to inspire at Vicarage Road as the Championship side threatened an upset on numerous occasions but were constantly denied by a solid Carlo Cudicini.
Van der Vaart's goal three minutes before half-time came against the run of play as Watford, whilst creating a plethora of chances, failed to find the cutting edge in the final third.
Watford had much joy down Spurs' left flank in the early exchanges. Van der Vaart offered little help to an overwhelmed Danny Rose, while the usually reliable partnership of Michael Dawson and Younes Kaboul also struggled against a lively Marvin Sordell.
Jermain Defoe finally registered Spurs' first shot on target after 30 minutes, but the striker, who found it difficult to get into the contest all evening, hit his shot into the ground which made the save routine for watford goalkeeper Scott Loach.
Spurs gradually established longer spells of possession but they required Van der Vaart's fortuitous strike to move into the lead. The midfielder was handed too much room 20 yards from goal but his tame effort eluded Loach to give the visitors the advantage.
Aaron Lennon was introduced in place of Luka Modric for the start of the second half in order to liven up Spurs' flanks.
Watford continued their assualt on Tottenham's goal but their toothlessness was epitomised by John Eustace's effort from a corner which was fired far over the bar.
Sean Murray squandered Watford's clearest chance of the evening as he was found clear in the box, but his curled effort was met by the fingertips of Cudicini and the Italian was able to direct the shot onto the post. Troy Deeney's effort as the ball came back into play was screwed wide, despite a lack of pressure from the Tottenham defence.
Tottenham rallied back and Lennon's cross on his side's left was met at the back post by Danny Rose, although Loach managed to push the full-back's header over the bar.
Van der Vaart then came close to doubling his tally, but his long-range effort struck the bar to the relief of a stranded Loach.
Watford had the opportunity to secure a replay late on as Eustace headed against the post from a corner. In all, the hosts registered 25 attempts on Tottenham's goal but Redknapp's side stood firm to progress into the fifth round.
Comments
0 comment