Tom Huddlestone struck twice and Jermain Defoe added a third to save Tottenham from an embarrassing fourth-round exit at the hands of plucky Port Vale. The visitors scented an upset when Leon Constantine gave the League One outfit the lead in the 64th minute, but Huddlestone's deflected free kick through a crowded penalty area ten minutes from time sent the game into extra time.
The England Under 21 international then put the home side in front with a 25-yard free-kick eight minutes into added time and Defoe made the game safe with a close range effort to send Spurs into the quarter finals.
The result was particularly harsh on Vale goalkeeper Mark Goodlad, who had denied the Premiership side with a string of great saves. In the second half, Spurs boss Martin Jol brought on Aaron Lennon, Dimitar Berbatov and Hossam Ghaly in an attempt to salvage the game and the Dutchman admitted Vale had given his side a scare.
"I was concerned. I thought if we don't do this (make the substitutions) we may go out of the cup. Lennon showed a good mentality and Berbatov knew what it was all about. Everybody expects you to go through to the next round, it's the same as it always is.
"All the ingredients were there for an upset – they were organised with a good keeper, they give you the initiative and that is not easy. But I felt home advantage was there. We kept believing in the second half and had some outstanding performances. Luckily, our quality probably gave us the edge.'
He added: "I felt we wanted to go to the next round, maybe we were fortunate. Robbie Keane was in the squad until yesterday, Mido picked up an injury so I felt we needed Berbatov, and he had that bit of quality."
Vale boss Martin Foyle said Tottenham's late equaliser in normal time proved the turning point in the match.
"Spurs got that lifeline at the right time. It was a shame, we came here with a gameplan and it worked. When Huddlestone scored to make it 2-1 we had to open things up, but it was still a great day for the fans."
Vale's goalscorer Constantine admitted Huddlestone's deflected free kick to draw Spurs level had inadvertently come off him.
"Yeah, it was probably an own goal but I thoroughly enjoyed the game. I am a bit disappointed because we though we were right in it up until they scored. They were a quality side and I thought I did alright.
"We have lost but everyone can be positive about it. They've shown us how to keep the ball and I think this can only help our league form."
