Gareth Bale gives Tottenham 1-0 win over Fulham

Posted Sunday, January 02, 2011 by YAHOO Sport

LONDON (AP)—Gareth Bale’s lightning reflexes gave Tottenham a 1-0 win over Fulham that extended his team’s perfect form over Christmas and New Year.

The Wales winger reacted brilliantly to flick Rafael van der Vaart’s free-kick strike past goalkeeper Mark Schwarzer three minutes before halftime on Saturday.

Spurs missed plenty of chances to add to their lead but still needed defender Michael Dawson to clear off his own line.

Otherwise, Fulham’s lack of firepower once again proved costly as it slipped to second bottom of the table, piling pressure on manager Mark Hughes.

Bale’s seventh Premier League goal of the season—and 11th overall—moved Tottenham up to 36 points and fourth place.

Buoyed by a first win in 27 away games on Tuesday, Fulham was a tough opponent and put together the best first-half moves with some good one-touch passing. Fulham’s Clint Dempsey shot wide from 18 meters (yards).

Schwarzer, playing his final game for Fulham before leaving for Australia’s Asian Cup squad, smothered long-range efforts from Benoit Assou-Ekotto and Roman Pavlyuchenko before Van der Vaart and Bale combined in unconventional fashion.

Bale got in the way of Van der Vaart’s 30-meter (yard) shot only to deliberately flick a header past Schwarzer.

Bale also forced a smart stop from Schwarzer before the break and another linkup between him and Van der Vaart might have set up a second goal shortly after the restart, but there was no one to meet the latter’s dangerous cross.