(Reuters) - Harry Winks proved an unlikely Tottenham Hotspur hero with a last-gasp winner in his side's 2-1 Premier League victory at lowly Fulham on Sunday after a nightmare afternoon for Fernando Llorente.
With Tottenham talisman Harry Kane absent injured, Spanish striker Llorente was handed a rare league start.
He made an impression too, clumsily gifting Fulham a 14th-minute lead with an own goal. Llorente also spurned two gilt-edged chances as Spurs suffered from the absence of Kane and South Korean Son Heung-min.
Thankfully for Llorente, Dele Alli equalised in the 51st minute and, just when it looked like third-placed Tottenham would draw for the first time in the league this season, Winks stooped to head the winner in the last seconds of stoppage time.
It was England midfielder Winks's first goal for Tottenham in just over two years and a crucial one as his side opened up a four-point gap on fourth-placed Chelsea and restored their seven-point lead over Arsenal and Manchester United.
"It was a blur, I can't remember what happened, it was a great moment and a win that we needed," Winks said.
"It has been too long (since I last scored), we needed to bounce back after United, we knew it would be a tough game, we had to try and dig in and do our best and we got lucky and got the three points."
LOWLY POSITION
For Fulham it was a heart-breaking defeat after they had belied their lowly position to cause Tottenham problems.
Manager Claudio Ranieri was left to rue the naivety of his side who have now conceded 51 league goals this season -- seven more than any other club.
He was especially disappointed that Tottenham's winner originated from a Fulham free kick at the other end.
"With one minute at the end we have a free kick and put it in the box, why? Take it to the corner," said the Italian, whose side remain deep in relegation trouble seven points behind 17th-placed Newcastle United.
With so much negativity about Tottenham's prospects without top scorer Kane, who could be missing until March with an ankle injury, it was a chance for Llorente to prove his worth.
But he endured a difficult day.
In the 14th minute he was back to defend a corner but when Jean Michael Seri swung it in Llorente inadvertently poked it into his own goal attempting a clearance.
Almost immediately he had a chance to make up for it when Jan Vertonghen curled in an inviting ball but Llorente headed powerfully straight at fellow Spaniard Sergio Rico.
If anything Fulham looked the more dangerous side with Ryan Babel making a lively debut. He headed one chance over and floated a perfect pass for Andre Schuerrle whose thunderous volley was pushed by Lloris straight to Aleksandar Mitrovic who headed in the rebound but was flagged offside.
Fulham's defensive frailty allowed Tottenham to level six minutes after the break. Tim Ream failed to clear and when Christian Eriksen took possession of the ball his delivery was perfect for Alli to head home.
Alli went off injured with a hamstring injury, but still Llorente should have scored, somehow glancing a header wider from in front of goal.
But there was still time for another Tottenham misfit to make an impact. The ball was played to Georges-Kevin N'koudou and his ball in was met by Winks to seal an 11th win in 13 away games for Tottenham.
(Reporting by Martyn Herman, editing by Ed Osmond)
