Tottenham 2 - 2 Leeds United

Posted Sunday, January 24, 2010 by BBC.com

Tottenham 2 - 2 Leeds United
Jermaine Beckford converts a 96th-minute penalty to earn Leeds a replay

Jermaine Beckford dispatched a stoppage-time penalty to earn League One Leeds a replay against Tottenham to cap a sensational FA Cup fourth-round tie at White Hart Lane.

The striker was coolness personified as he picked himself up from Michael Dawson's foul to drill his spot kick into the corner and earn the visitors a dramatic draw six minutes into injury time.

And it was little more than Leeds deserved as they twice came from behind to deny a side ranked 41 places above them easy passage into the next round.

It was Beckford who had cancelled out Peter Crouch's close-range opener with a typical poacher's effort minutes into the second half.

And it was Beckford again who denied substitute Roman Pavlyuchenko what would have been a headline-grabbing winner for the Russian front man.

Leeds, on course for promotion to the Championship thanks to their revival under manager Simon Grayson, do not do dull this season.

Having seen off Manchester United in sensational style in the previous round, they will have another chance to do the same to Tottenham when the sides meet again on 2 February.

Every one of their players played their part - not least keeper Casper Ankergren, whose penalty save was just one of a string of fantastic stops in the opening 20 minutes that kept Leeds in it.

Twice early on the Danish keeper's palms were warmed as Jermain Defoe and then Niko Kranjcar fired in good efforts from range, and Ankergren then produced his best save of the night when he flung himself low to his right to keep out Defoe's spot-kick after the striker had been felled by Michael Doyle.

Gareth Bale was the next to be frustrated as his free-kick was beaten away on the stretch, before the keeper - with the help of Patrick Kisnorbo - somehow denied Defoe six yards out after Kranjcar's free-kick had been spilled.

And after Defoe had been denied a second penalty when he looked to have been clearly bundled over in the box by Jason Crowe, Tottenham's frustration was near to boiling point.

It was then, having survived the early bombardment, that Leeds suddenly came out of their shell.

Leeds boss Simon Grayson, who was at Anfield to watch Liverpool beat Spurs 2-0 on Wednesday, had deployed his troops similarly, favouring a packed midfield at first.

But following the hosts' bright start he signalled to Robert Snodgrass that he had more license to roam, and it almost yielded immediate benefits.

It was the forward who brought the first save of note out of Heurelho Gomes with a curling effort that had to be brilliantly turned away, and after watching Beckford flash a left-foot effort wide, Snodgrass turned provider as his pass set up his strike partner to again force a fine save with a dipping volley.

Ironically, it was during Leeds' best passage of the half that Spurs took the lead, Crouch pouncing to tuck in on the rebound after Kranjcar's shot had been spilled.

But the Spurs players entered the half-time break knowing they had plenty of work to do - and so it proved when, just minutes after the restart, Beckford made the most of Jermaine Jenas's hashed attempt to clear a corner by scrambling home the equaliser from all of a yard.

It was the first goal Tottenham had conceded at home since 12 December, but Leeds were more than good for it and with the visitors matching the hosts with a performance full of endeavour and no little skill, Redknapp reacted by bringing on approximately £40m worth of talent from the bench in Wilson Palacios, Pavlyuchenko and Robbie Keane.

The turnaround was almost immediate. Pavlyuchenko cleverly stepped over Palacios's pass after a fine break from the midfielder and then collected Defoe's through-ball to slide into the corner with aplomb, putting Tottenham ahead and sending the home fans into raptures.

It was a terrific finish to a flowing move, and looked like not only settling a frantic tie but also proving a memorable winner for a striker who for so long has looked to be heading out of White Hart Lane.

The action was far from over, though, and Leeds saved their most dramatic moment until the last.

Beckford was the match-saver, driving into the box and falling under Dawson's challenge before showing a mental strength beyond his experience in firing home the resulting penalty.

The Leeds bench celebrated as if they had won the Cup - but few could deny them their moment of glory following a performance that provided yet more evidence that the club is once more on the up.

As for Tottenham, they will have to fit another Cup tie into their schedule as they look to combine a push for a Champions League place alongside their hunt for a first piece of silverware since the Carling Cup win of 2008.