As Andy Johnson scored Fulham's second goal against Tottenham in the 70th minute at Craven Cottage, he brought an end to any chance of the visiting manager retaining his unbeaten start with the North London club, writes Claire Harmer.

Against Fulham however, Tottenham's improved form appeared to vanish without a trace.

While Johnson's goal merely confirmed the victory for the Cottagers, it was their opener that proved the defining moment in the match.

Spurs goalkeeper Heurelho Gomes failed to deal with a cross from Simon Davies in the 32nd minute, and as the ball slipped through his fingers and in to the back of the net, the visitors knew they had a mountain to climb.

A late strike from substitute Fraizer Campbell was all they could muster in terms of a fightback, with the 2-1 defeat seeing them slip back in to the bottom three, as Fulham cement their place in the top-half of the table.

Despite the error which handed the home side the lead, Redknapp confirmed he will stand by his 'keeper.

"It was a disappointing day. We started in second gear and suddenly looked like we were getting into the game until we gifted them a goal like that. It makes it difficult," said Redknapp.

"It was a farcical goal, but he's my goalkeeper. He's got to do the job. This is the situation I have. I have Gomes and another goalkeeper, a Spanish lad [Cesar Sanchez] who is 37, and then you have kids.

"Gomes is the first-team goalkeeper. His record at PSV Eindhoven tells you he was a world-class goalkeeper. He made some great saves after the goal, so I have got to keep believing in him and stay with him.

"The goalkeeping coach has got to work with him. I always think goalkeepers and their coaches have a special relationship and he's got to get into his head this week. We are relying on Gomes to do the job for us.

On the encounter, Redknapp said he had little to complain about in terms of the result. He explained: "Fulham started sharper than we did and deserved the win. Their front two of Bobby Zamora and Andrew Johnson were excellent. They gave us problems.

"Luka Modric came off at half-time with a groin strain so I went with two strikers and brought Aaron Lennon on to try and give us some width but things didn't happen for us today. We also look vulnerable from corners at the moment which is a problem."

Seeing his side remain in the top half of the Barclays Premier League table for the second successive week was a fitting way for Fulham manager Roy Hodgson to celebrate his 30th match in charge at the club.

The Craven Cottage outfit have now equalled the number of home wins recorded in the whole of last season, with five, and Hodgson thought victory over their London rivals was one of his side's best performances.

He said: "I thought it was a good win after a good performance. I really did think we played well, they weren't many periods when we didn't have the lion's share of possession.

"It was unfortunate for their goalkeeper that he made such a bad, glaring error for the first goal. One feels very sorry for him in that respect.

"But over the 90 minutes, the way we played and the amount of pressure we put on the Spurs defence, I don't think we've got any reason to do other than pat ourselves on the back and to claim the victory was a well deserved one.

"I thought we started well, our passing was good and we were asking the questions of Tottenham and defending in the way I wanted us to," he added.

"I thought the two front players, and in particular Bobby Zamora, had outstanding performances. I hope he gets the credit he deserves from it.

"We did suffocate one of their major strengths which meant they weren't able to feed the wingers and feed the front men in quite the same way they had been doing recently. It was a game plan which fortunately succeeded for us.

"It was one of our better performances and something which I hope we are going to keep up."