Starmp3loaded | Jan. 27, 2019
Tottenham Hotspur went out of their second domestic cup competition in four days as first-half goals by Connor Wickham and Andros Townsend sealed an FA Cup victory for Crystal Palace in a thrilling fourth-round clash.
Tottenham, beaten by Chelsea in a penalty shoot-out in the League Cup semi-finals on Thursday, had their woes compounded in a dismal opening period when Kieran Trippier shot wide from the spot after Patrick van Aanholt had brought down Juan Foyth.
Spurs manager Mauricio Pochettino, already missing striker Harry Kane and midfielder Dele Alli through injury and with South Korean forward Son Heung-min still on his way back from the Asian Cup, chose to rest Christian Eriksen among a raft of other changes from last weekend's Premier League win against Fulham.
FULL MATCH DETAILS
The hosts took the lead against the run of play at Selhurst Park in the ninth minute as Wickham, whose Palace career had stalled due to a serious knee injury suffered in 2016, tapped in from close range on his first start for the club in 792 days.
Action from Selhurst Park
The 25-year-old forward was in the right place at the right time to capitalise after Jeffrey Schlupp glided past Tottenham's defenders only to have his shot from the right parried away by goalkeeper Paulo Gazzaniga.
Palace doubled their lead from the penalty spot in the 34th minute through Townsend, who sent the goalkeeper the wrong way, after defender Kyle Walker-Peters had inexplicably handled a high ball to concede the spot-kick.
Goalkeeper Julian Speroni, who had kept Palace in the game with a fine double save to deny Georges-Kevin Nkoudou, continued his solid showing after the break to help manager Roy Hodgson's team secure a famous victory.
Defeat extends Tottenham's wait for their first silverware under Pochettino and the club hasn’t won a trophy since beating Chelsea in the 2008 League Cup final.
"We created chances, had the possession, but in the end football is about scoring goals if you want to win, and we didn't," said Pochettino.
"Palace did not do much, but they scored and deserved to go through to the next round. It was so painful to lose the game like this. There were some key moments, like the (missed penalty), which would have changed everything.
"We have to look forward to the Premier League and Champions League. We are in a crazy run of fixtures, but this is how it is in England. We cannot complain and just try in the two competitions to give our best."
