London, Dec 1 (IANS) Tottenham Hotspur were held to a frustrating 1-1 stalemate by Fulham at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium on Sunday. Despite an early second-half lead courtesy of Brennan Johnson’s 10th goal of the season, the visitors levelled through Tom Cairney before finishing the match with 10 men after Cairney was sent off late for a foul on Dejan Kulusevski.
The game got off to a frantic start, with Spurs creating an early opportunity in the first minute. Timo Werner intercepted a loose pass from Fulham’s Calvin Bassey and set up Heung-Min Son, but goalkeeper Bernd Leno was quick off his line to block the shot. The visitors had their own chances, with Raul Jimenez heading over the bar and Alex Iwobi forcing Fraser Forster into a smart save after a well-timed through ball.
Both goalkeepers were in excellent form, with Forster making a string of key saves, including a one-handed stop from Jimenez’s volley and tipping Iwobi’s deflected shot onto the crossbar. Leno also came to Fulham’s rescue, tipping a powerful header from Radu Dragusin over the bar and keeping out James Maddison’s clever free-kick that narrowly hit the outside of the post.
The breakthrough came in the 54th minute when Werner’s cross from the left found Johnson at the far post, and the winger volleyed home from close range to put Spurs ahead. However, Fulham responded quickly, with Cairney, on as a substitute, rifling a left-footed shot into the far corner just 13 minutes later to make it 1-1.
The match took another twist when Cairney was shown a straight red card for a late challenge on Kulusevski. Despite the numerical advantage, Tottenham couldn’t find a way through Fulham’s resolute defense, and the match ended all square. The result means Spurs have now drawn two of their last three league games, and they will look to bounce back in their next outing.
–IANS
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