Cairney scores off bench, then sent off as 10-man Fulham draw at Spurs

There was a chaotic 20-minute cameo for Fulham captain Tom Cairney who came off the bench to rescue a point for Fulham on the road against Tottenham before being sent off.

Brennan Johnson and Cairney were both on target as the 10-man Cottagers earned a 1-1 draw at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium on Sunday.

After a goalless first half, Spurs took the lead against the run of play at the start of the second period, but Cairney came off the bench to cancel out Johnson’s stylish finish with a beautiful strike of his own.

The first half was all about the goalkeepers, who both made big saves. Bernd Leno denied Heung-min Son from point-blank range in the second minute, before Fraser Forster reacted excellently to deny Raul Jimenez an opener.

Fulham were the ones who continued to ask the question in the opening 45 minutes, and following Forster’s heroics, Alex Iwobi crashed the ball off the underside of the bar minutes before half-time.

Forster was called into action a couple of times early in the second half to deny Issa Diop and Iwobi, and the visitors would rue the missed opportunities as Spurs swiftly took the lead.

Timo Werner clipped in an excellent cross for Johnson – who had been very quiet in the opening period – to blast in with a volley at the back post to break the deadlock with his sixth goal of the season.

But Fulham were not behind for long as club captain Cairney came off the bench to equalise with a stunning first-time strike just five minutes after his introduction.

Cairney’s afternoon quickly came to an end, though, when he was sent off after catching the back of fellow substitute Dejan Kulusevski’s leg with his studs.

But despite having the player advantage, Spurs could not capitalise in the final 15 minutes of action as Fulham held on for the point.

After an absolute whitewashing of four-time champions Manchester City last week, Spurs were unable to follow up their stunning 4-0 win at the Etihad Stadium as they failed to win at home again.

Fulham might have been down to 10 players, but they did more than enough to win the game and will probably feel as though they should have with the chances they had.

It is not often a team with a numerical disadvantage come away from the match feeling as though they deserved more than a draw, but at the end of the day, it is a valuable point on the road.

As for Spurs, they may have broken the win-lose cycle to gain their first Premier League draw since the opening game of the season against Leicester City, but their levels dropped again in comparison to last week’s effort which will not be good enough if they are to challenge for a top-four spot.

The former Arsenal forward delivered another inspiring display against his old rivals and got so much joy on the left-hand side, which he continued to threaten until he found Cairney for Fulham’s opener.

Iwobi came agonisingly close to breaking the deadlock himself in the first half when his effort crashed off the underside of the bar, but he continued to drop brilliant balls in the box for his team-mates, who could not convert.

Tottenham: Forster 7, Porro 7, Dragusin 7, Davies 7, Udogie 6, Sarr 7, Bissouma 6, Maddison 6, Johnson 7, Son 6, Werner 7

Subs: Gray N/A, Kulusevski 5, Bergvall N/A, Lankshear N/A

Fulham: Leno 7, Tete 8, Diop 7, Bassey 6, Robinson 7, Berge 7, Lukic 6, Iwobi 8, Smith Rowe 6, Nelson 7, Jimenez 6

Subs: Castagne N/A, Sessegnon N/A, Cairney 6, Wilson 6, Adama, Muniz 5

2’ – HUGE CHANCE FOR SPURS! Son is denied an early opener! There’s a mix-up at the back and Werner capitalises on a sloppy pass and plays in Son, who forces a massive save out of Leno!

17’ – JIMENEZ MUST DO BETTER! Iwobi floats in an inviting ball from the left and Jimenez is free in the box, but he doesn’t really know what to do with it and just stabs the ball at Forster. Fulham could, and should, be ahead!

36’ – WHAT A SAVE! No Vicario, no problem! Jimenez gets on the end of a cross from the right and is free as a bird in the box as he diverts a volley to the bottom right corner, but Forster reacts excellently to deny him.

38’ – LENO TIPS OVER! It’s all about the goalkeepers in this opening half. Dragusin sends a strong header towards goal but the former Arsenal goalie turns it over.

42’ – OFF THE BAR! Fulham fly forward and Nelson slips in Iwobi on the right, who slams the ball against the underside of the crossbar. A lovely, flowing move from the visitors who come close again!

49’ – FULHAM COME CLOSE! Nelson whips in a delivery from the right to Diop at the back post, who sends a header downwards and right at Forster’s feet. He should have gone back across goal really, and another massive Fulham chance goes begging.

52’ – ANOTHER CRUCIAL STOP FROM FORSTER! Spurs’ back-up goalkeeper has been busy today! Nelson shows excellent skill to bring the ball down on his back, skip past Porro and find Iwobi at the back post, who strikes straight at Forster.

54′ – GOAL!!! – TOTTENHAM 1-0 FULHAM (JOHNSON): Spurs take the lead against the run of play! Werner crosses from the left to Johnson at the back post – who has been very quiet to far – who lashes home a brilliant volley.

65’ – GOAL!!! – TOTTENHAM 1-1 FULHAM (CAIRNEY): Fulham finally get their goal and it’s the substitute Cairney! Robinson finds Iwobi in a little pocket down the left, who lays the ball off to Cairney just inside the box to fire past Forster with a sweet first-time strike.

81’ – CAIRNEY CATCHES KULUSEVSKI – And VAR will have a look at this… He challenges the Swede from behind and catches his Achilles with his studs.

84’ – FULHAM RED CARD! Cairney has been sent off after a VAR check – he’s only been on the pitch for 20 minutes and he must now hand the armband back to Robinson.

90’+1 – FULHAM COME CLOSE TO WINNING IT! Udogie loses possession to Wilson on the right, who beats Davies and fizzes a ball across goal but there is no one there in a black and red shirt as Dragusin hooks the ball away.

• Tom Cairney has scored away from home in the Premier League for the first time since March 2010, with this being the longest ever gap between a player scoring in away matches in the competition (14 years and 269 days).
• Brennan Johnson is one of only two Premier League players to score 10+ non-penalty goals across all competitions this season, along with Erling Haaland (15)