Nottingham Forest 0 Tottenham 3: At the second time of asking Tottenham brutally emphasised the gulf that has developed between themselves and Nottingham Forest. Old foes in this competition, the Premiership side will hardly have recognised Forest last night and made light work of progressing to the FA Cup quarter-finals.
They will face Newcastle United courtesy of second-half goals from Noe Pamarot, Robbie Keane and Mido after a night of near-unremitting pressure on the home goal.
This became an exercise in damage limitation long before the final whistle for Gary Megson's team and Spurs, superior in every department, might have inflicted greater damage had they been more ruthless.
Forest, second bottom of the Championship, surprised even themselves by returning with a 1-1 draw from the initial tie, a match they could conceivably have won. Yet the loss of Kris Commons was a debilitating setback last night.
The home side had none of the creativity that Tottenham intermittently displayed at times. Martin Jol's team passed the ball around as though they were playing on a bowling green rather than a pitch that had been subject to a lunchtime inspection from the referee Mark Clattenburg.
The visitors were entitled to believe they ought to have manoeuvred a lead inside an opening 45 minutes in which Forest, with the exception of a rasping effort from Paul Evans, barely made Paul Robinson muddy his knees.
The same could hardly be said at the other end where Forest's goalkeeper Paul Gerrard was quick off his line to deny Frederic Kanoute after 18 minutes and produced an even better save shortly after the half-hour, when an incisive move saw Kanoute chest the ball down into Keane's path inside the area. The striker's shot was true enough but Gerrard clawed the ball away.
Kanoute's powerful running was often Tottenham's most dangerous weapon, but for long spells their most penetrative player was the unlikely figure of Thimothee Atouba.
Jol had recalled Pedro Mendes for his first start since January 22, although it was not clear whether the manager was aware at the time of the midfielder's diatribe in the Portuguese newspaper Mais Futebol. Frustrated by his lack of activity, Mendes had complained that he had been ostracised by the club and threatened to leave.
"When you are not happy with your job, you have to move on," he griped. Jol will investigate those comments and Mendes might discover he has talked himself into trouble. In mitigation, however, he could also claim he marked his return with a composed performance, orchestrating much of their good work.
There was an air of inevitability when Pamarot scored on the hour. Reto Ziegler swung over a corner from the right and the French defender stole in front of Gerrard to score with a low, glancing header. The goalkeeper has arguably been Forest's best player this season, but he will wince at the replays.
Their second also came from a Ziegler corner. This time Michael Brown flicked the ball across the six-yard area where Keane pounced from close range and Mido added the third in injury time, heading in after Brown's shot from distance had hit the bar.
NOTTINGHAM FOREST: Gerrard, Curtis, Morgan, Melville, Doig, Perch, Powell, Evans (Thompson 64 mins), Robertson, Johnson (Harris 67 mins), Taylor. Subs not used: Doyle, King, Bopp. Booked: Melville.
TOTTENHAM: Robinson, Pamarot, Atouba (Edman 82 mins), Gardner, Ziegler, Davies, Pedro Mendes (Carrick 77 mins), Brown, Kelly, Kanoute (Mido 74), Keane. Subs not used: Cerny, Defoe. Goals: Pamarot 60, Keane 72, Mido 90.
Referee: M Clattenburg (Co Durham)
