Battling Bluebirds force replay

[sportbilly]

Cardiff and Tottenham could not be separated after a hard-fought 90 minutes at Ninian Park, as the Championship outfit forced their Premiership rivals to settle for a replay in their FA Cup third round clash.

There was attacking endeavour from both sides throughout the 90 minutes, but that one moment of quality in front of goal was lacking as neither goal was breached.

Tottenham made a bright start to the contest and Neil Alexander had to be quick off his line to deny Dimitar Berbatov a shooting chance.

Jermain Defoe has been in good form in recent weeks and he showed a clean pair of heels to the Cardiff defence on 12 minutes, but shot just wide of Alexander's goal.

Cardiff took a little time to find a foothold in the game, but they were presented with a gilt-edged opening on the quarter-hour mark.

South Korean full-back Lee Young-pyo gifted possession to Michael Chopra with a wayward header but the forward, who has scored just one goal since Bonfire Night, failed to ignite the tie as he prodded wide of goal under pressure from Paul Robinson.

The chance seemed to send confidence coursing through Cardiff's veins as Calum Davenport had to be alert to clear under pressure from Steven Thompson, while the striker saw a header beat Robinson but dribble just wide of goal.

Although forced onto the back foot in the later stages of the first half, Spurs still carried a threat and Alexander did well to clasp a shot from Berbatov which took a sharp deflection off Darren Purse.

The best chance of the opening 45 minutes fell Cardiff's way, but Chopra appeared to get caught in two minds after collecting a pass from Willo Flood as his cross-shot eluded both the goal and strike partner Thompson.

Defoe had a decent sighter in the first half and so it came as a surprise when he dragged a shot wide of goal on 49 minutes, as Spurs looked to raise the tempo after the interval.

Cardiff did not wilt as Spurs puffed out their chest and Joe Ledley volleyed over the bar having been picked out superbly by Chopra.

The Bluebirds' pace on the break was a worry for Tottenham's back-line on more than one occasion and Thompson and Flood combined to fashion a chance for Riccardo Scimeca, but the midfielder lashed well wide of target.

Alexander acted as a sweeper to deny Berbatov early in the game and he repeated the trick just after the hour as Defoe threatened to break the deadlock.

Spurs signalled their desire to win the game by throwing on Aaron Lennon but, a Steed Malbranque volley aside, they failed to fashion any clear-cut chances as Cardiff comfortably forced a replay.