Kanoute costs Tottenham place in semis

Tottenham 3 Liverpool 4 on penalties (1-1 after extra time)

A moment of lunacy four minutes from the end of extra-time from Frederic Kanoute cost Tottenham a place in the Carling Cup semi-final as Liverpool’s reserves stole the most unlikely of victories at White Hart Lane.

Jermain Defoe gave Spurs the lead their dominance – if not their finishing - had deserved after 107 minutes of wasted chances, only for Kanoute to inexplicably handle a harmless cross in his own box.

Florent Sinama-Pongolle swept home the spot-kick and forced a tie that Tottenham should have comfortably ended in normal time into the lottery of a penalty shoot-out.

With the scores tied at 2-2, Kanoute was then the first player to miss for Tottenham and though Darren Potter had his effort saved by home goalkeeper Paul Robinson, Michael Brown gave Liverpool the advantage when he skied his effort over the crossbar.

And it was left to Sinama-Pongolle, the 20-year-old, to fire his penalty to Robinson’s left – the opposite corner to his extra-time spot-kick – and propel Liverpool into a semi-final clash with Watford.

In truth it was little more than Tottenham deserved. They had spent all of normal time wasting a glut of chances, with Rohan Ricketts and Robbie Keane the chief culprits.

Liverpool’s reserves clung on force extra-time and the longer Tottenham went without scoring and the more possession they squandered, the brighter Rafael Benitez’s youngsters grew.

The Spaniard brought in Zak Whitbread, Stephen Warnock and David Raven alongside Stephan Henchoz in an inexperienced defence which was nearly breached after just five minutes.

Reto Ziegler picked out Kanoute in the box and the Mali international turned on a sixpence, only for his shot to deflect off the crossbar and into the stand.

The chances were coming thick and fast for Tottenham but Kanoute scuffed a volley wide and Ziegler should have done better than to fire into the side-netting.

Kanoute then turned provider from the right, finding Ricketts unmarked in the centre of the Liverpool box with a perfect cross but his header was glanced horribly wide.

Liverpool were gaining heart from their own stubborn resistance but could do little to stem the tide, surviving only through Tottenham’s impotence in the final third.

When Ziegler whipped over a low cross from Tottenham’s sixth corner of the half all it needed was a touch. None came.

It fell to Robbie Keane at the far post but he was denied by the first of two brilliant reflex saves from the swiftly advancing Jerzy Dudek.

When the players emerged for the second half, little had changed. Keane hit the side-netting with an open goal gaping – the worst miss of the lot – and when Kanoute presented the

Republic of Ireland striker with a chance to make amends five minutes later, Dudek somehow tipped his volley over the crossbar.

Defoe, who had been sat watching on the bench, was sent to warm up down the touchline.

Head coach Martin Jol had seen enough and the England striker was introduced for Ricketts with 25 minutes remaining.

Defoe was given little chance to shine as Tottenham remained sloppy in possession and they were beginning to tread a fine line – wasteful up front as Liverpool increasingly tested them at the back.

With 11 minutes remaining Anthony Gardner was lucky to escape a red card when, as the last man back, he virtually rugby tackled Sinama-Pongolle to the ground.

Liverpool, furious at referee Neale Barry, responded best and when the whistle blew for extra-time, it was Tottenham who were clinging on. The White Hart Lane crowd responded with a chorus of boos.

John Welsh, a second-half replacement for Neil Mellor, shaved the outside of the post at one end before Raven, making his first start, produced a perfectly-timed tackle to stop a charging Defoe.

After the turnaround, when Kanoute picked out Defoe, the game was seemingly won. But Kanoute then gifted Liverpool a chance to level from the spot, and ultimately win the match in the same manner.