Tottenham survive early scare to reach quarterfinals of FA Cup

Jermain Defoe underlined his goalscoring ability once again as Tottenham Hotspur came from behind to beat Stevenage 3-1 in their FA Cup fifth round replay Wednesday.

The England striker has struggled to win a regular starting place in the Tottenham team, despite being their leading scorer this season, but his double rescued Harry Redknapp’s high-flyers after a rocky start.

Joel Byrom opened the scoring for the third-flight visitors from the penalty spot on just four minutes after he had been tripped by New Zealand’s Ryan Nelsen in the box.

A difficult evening for Spurs got more difficult as central defender Michael Dawson was carried off on a stretcher and early reports said he had ruptured ankle ligaments.

But Defoe latched on to a long kick from Carlo Cudicini and volleyed the home side level to the relief of the home fans.

Early in the second half, keeper Cudicini made a stunning close range save to deny Stevenage captain Mark Roberts.

But it was Roberts who gave up a vital penalty nine minutes into the second period, tripping Gareth Bale on the right-hand side of the area before Adebayor converted the spot kick.

Still Stevenage were not finished and Roberts hit the crossbar when he met a corner, but when Defoe ran on to a Bale throw-in to score his second and the match was over.

Tottenham play fellow EPL side Bolton at home in the quarterfinals.

Meanwhile in Italy’s Serie A, Juventus were held to a 1-1 draw at Bologna.

A win would have drawn Juve level at the top with champions AC Milan as they trail by two points with 12 matches left.

Veteran captain Marco Di Vaio gave the home side a 17th minute lead but Montenegro star Mirko Vucinic equalized just before the hour mark for the title challengers.

Juve are unbeaten in 26 league games this season – but they have drawn exactly half of those.