FA Cup: Townsend gives Spurs advantage over Sheffield Utd

London Tottenham will take a slender 10 lead into the second leg of their League Cup semifinal against Sheffield United after Andros Townsends penalty secured a barelydeserved success at White Hart Lane on WednesdayMauricio Pochettinos side were largely kept in check by third tier United in a combative first leg but they managed to secure the advantage when Townsend converted a spotkick after Jay McEveleys handball late in the second halfThe north Londoners remain favourites to secure a Wembley final appearance against Chelsea or Liverpool although they will need to improve on this lethargic performance to avoid becoming the latest scalp for giantkillers United in the second leg at Bramall Lane on January 28 It was a tough gameI am happy for the result but we need to play the second leg in Sheffield and win Pochettino said It will be a difficult game in the second leg They played well and we need to go and be focused It was the latest erratic effort from Spurs this season with Pochettino setting the tone when he surprisingly named Emmanuel Adebayor as captain for his first start since NovemberTogo striker Adebayor had been jeered by a section of the Tottenham support at the weekend when he made his first appearance since claiming his team played better away from home because of the pressure put on them by the Lane faithful After Uniteds team coach took two and half hours to make the fivemile journey from their hotel due to the gridlocked north London traffic kickoff had to be put back 15 minutesBut harassing Spurs with a ferocious workrate and refusing to just sit back in massed defence it was easy to see why United FA Cup semifinalists leat season have once again established themselves as the scourge of topflight opposition knocking out West Ham Southampton and QPR in the domestic cups this termAdebayor quickly grew frustrated with Uniteds forceful approach and escaped with only a yellow card from referee Neil Swarbrick after catching Louis Reed with an arm as the Blades forward tried to deny him time on the ball Cloughs side came close to capping their impressive start with a goal when Jamal CampbellRyce drifted in from the right flank to fire over a low crossshot that flashed just past the far postStubborn resistenceBut that finally sparked a response from Tottenham and Eric Diers header from a Townsend freekick was goalbound until Mark Howard plunged to his left to make the save Adebayor had a golden opportunity to break Uniteds stubborn resistence when he sprinted onto Christen Eriksens exquisite long pass but a moment of clumsy control left the former Arsenal star stretching to get away a tame shot that looped overThe visitors werent cowed by that burst of Spurs pressure and Stefan Scougall rifled just wide from the edge of the penalty area after Ben Davies carelessly surrendered possession Dier glanced his header narrowly wide from Townsends freekick just before halftime but with inform striker Harry Kane deployed out of position on the left wing at times there was little to warm the Tottenham fans on a freezing eveningKane spent slightly more time in his preferred central role in the second half but even so Spurs were still making heavy weather of prising open the United defence Pochettino responded by sending on Mousa Dembele and Roberto Soldado for Ryan Mason and the anonymous Adebayor who departed to another flurry of jeers from the home fansIt proved an inspired move as Soldado made an immediate impact to help Spurs take the lead in the 74th minute Jan Vertonghens chipped pass towards Soldado was only partially controlled by the Spanish striker but as he tried to reach the loose ball McEveley knocked it away with his hand It was a clear penalty and England winger Townsend stepped up to drive a powerful spotkick past Howard