Tottenham Hotspur 3 - 1 Stevenage: Spurs survive early scare

Tottenham survived an early scare to move one step closer to Wembley by beating minnows Stevenage in last night’s fifth-round replay.

Willed on by their 4,200 travelling fans, the npower League One side started confidently and earned a shock penalty with just over two minutes gone when Ryan Nelsen upended down Joel Byrom with a clumsy challenge after he burst in to the box. The winger picked himself up and slotted home the spot-kick to give the minnows a surprise lead. Spurs almost went 2-0 down in the 25th minute when Jon Ashton climbed to meet Byrom’s cross, but he headed over.

Stevenage paid the price for the miss as they conceded seconds later. Gareth Bale hit a 60-yard ball to find Jermain Defoe, who took it down with a deft touch before powering home a left-footed volley.

Stevenage were still holding their own, however, and came close when Michael Bostwick’s shot from a Byrom corner dropped straight into the path of Mark Roberts, but he shot straight at Carlo Cudicini from six yards. Once again, the minnows were immediately made to pay for their profligacy as Spurs took the lead. Roberts brought down Bale as he attempted to pull a cross back, referee Michael Oliver pointed to the spot and Emmanuel Adebayor stroked home the spot-kick.

Defoe then sealed victory with 15 minutes left when he raced on to Bale’s long throw, turned Ashton and curled a shot into the far corner.