Spurs and Fulham finished level on goals and red cards after an eventful evening at White Hart Lane.

Jean Tigana's visitors had goalkeeper Maik Taylor sent-off for a professional foul in the first half and Tottenham's Darren Anderton was also dimissed after the break after picking up two bookings.

In an absorbing game in which both teams hit the woodwork, Glenn Hoddle's men had to settle for Teddy Sheringham's penalty which equalised an earlier own goal from Ledley King.

The result, which did little for neither Spurs' European hopes nor Fulham's ambitions of staying up, was probably a fair one.

Tottenham will point to a glaring miss from Milenko Acimovic which will surely rob Ryan Giggs of the miss-of-the-season award.

But Fulham also had no luck as Tigana was forced to make all three permitted substitutions before the break because of Tayor's dismissal and injuries to Steve Marlet and Martin Djetou.

Taylor's red card came in the same incident which led to Tottenham's goal.

Dean Richards played the ball through a day-dreaming Fulham backline in the 38th minute for Simon Davies who rounded Taylor and then tumbled over him.

The goalkeeper pointed out that he had got a hand to the ball before Davies went down but referee Graham Barber still showed him the red card.

Tigana immediately sent on reserve keeper Martin Herrera for his Fulham debut but Teddy Sheringham's penalty meant the Argentine had conceded a goal before touching the ball for the first time in the Premiership.

Spurs had carried the greater threat in the opening exchanges - Fulham restricted to a Facundo Sava header which Kasey Keller held - but it was the west Londoners who opened the scoring in the 15th minute.

Taylor's clearance was miscued by Richards which allowed the ball to drop for Marlet and when he rounded King it ran to Luis Boa Morte.

King raced back to cover and inadvertently deflected Boa Morte's effort into Keller's net.

Spurs still looked the livelier of the two teams in attack and they were denied by a world-class save from Taylor.

The Fulham keeper firstly tipped a long-range Anderton shot over the bar and then, when the resultant corner was cleared and played back in, he palmed King's goalbound header on to the bar.

That was to be his last meaningful contribution and it was Herrera between the posts at the start of the second period when Milenko Acimovic - on for the injured Gus Poyet - headed a superb chance straight at him.

That was a bad miss but it was as nothing compared to when, in the 63rd minute, Stephen Carr crossed from the right and Acimovic bobbled a shot on to the bar and over from about three yards out.

It was all Tottenham at that stage as they used their one-man advantage but by the 72nd minute it was 10 versus 10.

Anderton received his second yellow card in four minutes - both for minor fouls - and Barber sent him off.

That raised Fulham's game and with 15 minutes left Louis Saha, earlier denied by a late King challenge, saw a thumping drive brilliantly turned on to the bar by Keller.