Spurs brush Stockport aside

Davies put on an inspired performance

Tottenham 4-0 Stockport

Tottenham comfortably defeated Stockport in their FA Cup fifth round tie with the White Hart Lane's youngsters continuing to enhance their reputations.

Welsh midfielder Simon Davies, 21, led the way for Spurs' up-and-coming brigade with a brace after coming on as a first-half substitute.

An inspired Davies struck his first after another promising prospect in Ledley King, 22, had opened the scoring for the home side.

  Key incidents

4 mins: Ledley King scores with a glancing header

10: Stockport skipper Mike Flynn is booked for foul on Oyvind Leonhardsen

15: Leonhardsen is replaced by Simon Davies

30: Davies scores with a shot across goal

38: Jarko Wiss header goes narrwoly wide for Stockport

44: Flynn scores an own goal to extend Spurs' lead

50: Davies adds his second of the game

80: Jones saves well from Spurs' Gary Doherty

Stockport skipper Mike Flynn scored an own goal just before the interval and Davies added his second after 50 minutes.

Davies caught the eye with his display but fellow youngsters King, Gary Doherty, Luke Young, Stephen Clemence and Alton Thelwell also played their part.

The win keeps alive the notion that when the year ends in one Tottenham are odds on to win the competition.

Five of Tottenham's eight wins in the FA Cup have come on such an occasion and they progressed to the quarter-finals in comprehensive fashion this time around.

The Premiership side all but put the game beyond their First Division opponents' reach by half-time at White Hart Lane.

The home fans had to wait only four minutes to ease any nerves of a possible giant-killing act.

I thought we played quite well, kept playing, passed the ball and showed good character

  Stockport manager Andy Kilner

King, 22, converted an inswinging Stephen Clemence free-kick with a glancing header after Sergei Rebrov had been brought down on Spurs' right flank.

The early goal served to give the home side a stanglehold on the game which they rarely let slip from there on.

Oyvind Leonhardsen was forced off early through injury but his departure had little affect on manager george Graham's side.

Instead, it signalled the arrival of Davies and he made his presence felt by adding his side's second.

The goal had a hint of off-side about it when a long ball was played forward to striker Les Ferdinand.

Les Ferdinand helped create Spurs' second goal

But the linesman's flag stayed down and Ferdinand headed into Davies' path just inside the Stockport area.

Former Peterborough midfielder Davies nodded the ball to his right before scoring with a shot across goal.

Stockport did show some promise and had a chance to work their way back into the game through Finnish international Jarkko Wiss.

After Neil Sullivan's poor clearance fell to an opposing player, the ball was played back into the Spurs goalmouth only for Wiss to put his well-struck header narrowly wide.

Of course the result is pleasing but there were a lot of good things in our performance as well

  Spurs manager George Graham

Stockport skipper Mike Flynn then put a Luke Young cross into his own net with Ferdinand lurking to further tighten Spurs' grip on the game.

Stockport fears over an embarrassing scoreline increased when Davies added his second and Spur's fourth.

Charging through on goal, Davies controlled a long ball before confidently shooting past visiting goalkeeper Lee Jones.

From there on Stockport's main task was to keep the scoreline as respectable as possible, a task they just about achieved.

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Tottenham: Sullivan, Young, Doherty, Campbell, Freund, Sherwood, Leonhardsen, Clemence, King, Ferdinand, Rebrov. Subs: Walker, Korsten, Etherington, Davies, Thelwell.

Stockport: Jones, Grayson, Nicholson, Flynn, Clark, Cooper, Gibb, Wiss, Clare, Kuqi, Wilbraham. Subs: Dibble, Connelly, Carrigan, Fradin, Smith.

Referee: C Wilkes (Gloucester)