Thanks to John Ellis for his eye-witness comments:-

Tottenham Hotspur 1 - 1 Fulham

Fraser Forster's heroics earned Spurs a point which was about as much as they deserved. A couple of his saves were breathtaking including one which had fans giving the Spurs number two keeper a standing ovation.

Shorn of five of the starting eleven including the keeper, both centre backs, central midfielder and striker, the line-up still looked strong.

With Richarlison, Odobert and Moore also out to make a total of eight players unavailable for selection, unsurprisingly the substitutes bench had a lack of options.

Dragusin and Davies had good games with Davies making three last ditch interventions in the opening half hour. Dragusin also did well to cut out a dangerous cross towards the end of the game and is growing into his role.

For all of his good work throughout, Davies did though misplace a straightforward pass from which Fulham launched their attack to equalise. It was a well constructed move which was well finished by Cairney who later received a red card for a dreadful scythe down the back of Kulusevski's legs. It is beyond comprehension as to why the referee only saw it as a yellow card and needed the intervention of VAR to overturn his decision.

What happened next was quite outrageous and reflected poorly on the weak officiating of the match. A Fulham player received an instruction from the coaching staff on the sideline to tell the keeper to go down. The player duly signalled to the keeper to go down and receive treatment from the trainer. This enabled the outfield players to go across to the bench for a team talk as to how to set up with ten men.

The total delay was at least four minutes of the seven added which should have been at least nine minutes given the substitutions and time wasting.

In added time, further time-wasting ensued and as well, Spurs made a substitution but the final whistle blew on the seventh minute without any further time being added.

Fulham should have already been reduced to ten men just after the hour mark. With Spurs leading 1-0, Sasha Lukic who had just been booked, brought down Son for what looked a bookable offence. The referee played the advantage rule but did not go back afterwards to issue Lukic with a second yellow card.

In the final minutes, Gray who himself had only just come on as a substitute was badly fouled and had to be substituted for Lankshear to make his Premier League debut. It was a nasty foul which the referee blew for but again chose not to give a yellow card.

As with many other top notch coaches, Marco Silva knew exactly what tactics to adopt against an Ange Postecoglou side.

Time and again, Fulham exploited Spurs frailties down the flanks and especially down the Spurs right with Porro regularly being taken to the cleaners.

Tottenham took the lead against the run of play with yet another Johnson goal which was superbly set up with a delightful chipped pass by Werner. Johnson is Spurs top goal scorer with ten goals in all competitions including six in the Premier League.

Spurs looked leggy today which was best summed up by an attack which left a huge chasm in the midfield area. It is very unusual to see such a big gap between defenders and attackers on the pitch.

There is a busy schedule ahead with ten games being played in 32 days during the period 28th November to 29th December.

With so many players unavailable and Gray likely being added to the injury list, it is crucial Spurs get players fit as quickly as possible.

Postecoglou is not helping matters with his substitutions though. For example, Werner who didn't start on Thursday and had been a threat down the left wing was substituted instead of Son who started on Thursday and again today.

Son should really have put Spurs one up in the opening minutes and had a second opportunity in the first half which he also missed. His form has always been streaky but he really does seem to have lost his mojo and possibly a yard of pace. It is to be hoped he can get back to his best form but overplaying him at 32 years of age when there are other options available doesn't seem to be the best solution.

Both teams hit the woodwork in the first half with a Maddison daisy cutter free kick deflecting off the wall against the outside of the post and Fulham crashing an effort against the crossbar.

Spurs form is a real concern with only one win in five matches and no win at home in their last three matches at the Tottenham Hotspur stadium which leaves them in seventh place in the Premier League and in ninth place in the Europa League.

Ahead of the Liverpool v Manchester City game, Tottenham were only three points off fourth place but equally only two points clear of 13th place which is currently occupied by Bournemouth who Spurs play next away on Thursday night. The remaining eight games in December could well shape the rest of the season...

#Coys

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