Tottenham Hotspur have booked their place in the quarter-finals of the FA Cup for the first time in five years courtesy of a 3-0 victory over Fulham at Craven Cottage this afternoon.
A Harry Kane hat-trick saw Spurs bounce back from consecutive defeats at the hands of Liverpool and Gent, picking up their first away win in any competition since New Year's Day.
Having seen Burnley, Leicester City and Manchester City all fail to win yesterday, Spurs boss Mauricio Pochettino took no chances with his team selection as the likes of Kane, Dele Alli and Christian Eriksen all started, and the visitors reaped the rewards of that decision as they cruised to victory.
That trio in particular sparkled throughout, and they were all involved as Spurs almost took the lead after just four minutes when Kane and Alli combined to play the ball through for Eriksen, whose poked effort was turned past the post by Marcus Bettinelli.
Fulham made an energetic start to the match, but it was at times frantic from the hosts and their messy defending gifted Spurs another chance just a minute later when Alli collected a loose ball on the edge of the box only to drag his effort narrowly wide of the target.
Fulham's first opening of the match arrived after 11 minutes when a corner was only cleared as far as Scott Malone, who bundled his way past a couple of defenders before firing a shot a few yards wide of the far post.
The Cottagers were behind just five minutes later, though, as Kane - something of a surprise starter having picked up a knock to his knee during the defeat to Gent on Thursday - steered a delicate cross from Eriksen past Bettinelli at full stretch.
One almost became two just seconds later when Alli produced an exquisite touch to collect a long ball forward but, with only the keeper to beat, he scuffed his finish into the arms of Bettinelli.
Having established control of the match, Spurs almost gifted Fulham the equaliser in the 20th minute when Michel Vorm gave the ball straight to Tom Cairney in a dangerous position, but the Tottenham keeper atoned for his error by denying the midfielder's first-time effort.
Tottenham's stranglehold of the game only increased as the half wore on, and Eriksen should have done better when he blazed over from a tight angle after being slid in by Kane.
Fulham were comfortably second best for the majority of the first half, but they did manage to stem the flow of chances for Spurs and actually ended the opening 45 minutes on top, with Stefan Johansen and Sone Aluko both threatening in stoppage time.
Spurs were soon back in control after the restart, though, and it took just six minutes of the second half for the visitors to get the two-goal cushion as Eriksen and Kane linked up once again, with the latter turning the Dane's cross home from close range.
Eriksen was proving to be the puppet master behind Tottenham's dominance, and he almost chalked up a third assist when he clipped a cross to Alli at the back post, only for the England international to put his volley over the bar when he probably should have done better.
It was Alli's turn to act as the provider with 20 minutes remaining when he lifted the ball into the path of Kane, who in turn sent a lobbed finish just wide of the far post at full stretch.
Fulham refused to give up on the idea of a dramatic comeback, though, and things may have been different had Kevin McDonald's powerful header in the 71st minute been just a few inches lower.
Any lingering hopes of the hosts grabbing a slice of the weekend's FA Cup magic were well and truly extinguished shortly afterwards, though, as one-touch football from Eriksen and Alli released Kane through on goal and, having checked to make sure he was onside, the striker made no mistake with his finish to complete his fifth Tottenham hat-trick.
The England striker has now scored nine goals in nine appearances this calendar year and 20 in his last 22 London derbies across all competitions.
Eriksen almost added a goal to his two assists after the hat-trick hero had been taken off when he tried to pick out the bottom corner with a curling effort, only to see the ball fly a couple of yards wide.
Spurs pushed for a fourth late on as Moussa Sissoko, Victor Wanyama and Son Heung-min all failed to make the most of promising positions, but in the end the visitors settled for the three-goal margin in what was a convincing return to form.
The result is only Tottenham's third away win in their last 15 outings on the road and should set them up nicely for the return leg of their Europa League last-32 clash with Gent, which takes place at Wembley on Thursday.
Fulham, meanwhile, see a four-match home winning streak come to an end and will look to bounce back when they take on Bristol City at Ashton Gate on Wednesday.
Barney Corkhill
