Tottenham Hotspur 3-1 West Bromwich Albion
The FA Cup, Fourth Round Replay
White Hart Lane
13 February 2005



Jermain Defoe was delighted to be through to the next round of The FA Cup with his brace helping Tottenham eased past West Brom 3-1 at White Hart Lane.

The home side had to come back from behind after ex-arsenal player Kanu put Bryan Robson's impressive West Brom side ahead.

But a Robbie Keane equaliser from the spot and two from Defoe in five second half minutes earned Spurs a home game against Championship strugglers Nottingham Forest next Sunday.

Defoe said afterwards: "The FA Cup is a very important competition and Martin Jol stressed that to us before the the game started. We are through to the next round and that is the main thing."

Kanu had given the visitors a deserved early lead when he made the most of poor Spurs defending to head home Zoltan Gera's right-wing cross.

Tottenham equalised against the run of play after Hoult was stretchered off after giving away a penalty for bringing down Stephen Kelly and Robbie Keane sent substitute Tomasz Kuszczak the wrong way to score.

The decision disappointed the West Brom manager Bryan Robson. He said: “The performance from the boys was excellent in the first half, but the officials have got Tottenham back into the game.

“The referee did his best to get them back into the game. Russell has got a touch on the ball before the penalty was awarded and it was a decent save.

“The television replays prove that as well and it is annoying. The major turning point was when he awarded a penalty that should never have been given.

“We have outplayed Tottenham and then a decision like that allows them to get back to 1-1 and it lifts the home fans and the players. It changed the course of the game.”

Defoe was the star of the match and he popped up to score with two excellent strikes and put the game beyond West Brom.

First he thumped home a blistering drive from the edge of the box after Michael Carrick's free-kick, then fellow ex-West Ham colleague Fredi Kanoute set him up to score another from 10 yards.

West Brom rallied but were unable to claw back any goals as Robinson pulled off a string of good save to send Spurs through to the next round to the delight of Tottenham boss Martin Jol

He said: “I thought it was a penalty when I saw it, but possibly Bryan Robson is right.

“It’s a one-off game against Nottingham Forest next week, but if we have the right attitude we are always in with the chance of reaching the next round.”

Elsewhere, Isaiah Rankin booked Brentford's place in the Fifth Round with a 1-0 win over 10-man Hartlepool.

The win sets-up a money spinning trip to Southampton next weekend, while Fulham also progress to the next stage. Collins John and Claus Jensen's extra-time goals sealed Derby's fate.