eastlondonseagull
Well-known member
Independent on Sunday
January 9, 2005
SECTION: Final Edition; SPORT; Pg. 5
LENGTH: 519 words
HEADLINE: FOOTBALL: KEANE'S CLASSIC ROCKS BRIGHTON;
_TOTTENHAM HOTSPUR 2 KING 40, KEANE 83 BRIGHTON & HOVE ALBION 1
BYLINE: NORMAN FOX
BODY:
Tottenham's revival continues, but none of the Premiership rivals that they have recently overcome had given them more problems than Brighton did in this real, fulfilling and finally thrillingly won Cup tie.
The Championship side had come with a glowing reputation for being stubborn in midfield and defence. The evidence was in their alignment, five in the middle. Spurs found themselves struggling to secure space there, and within the opening 15 minutes could have been a couple of goals in arrears.
By far the most impressive strike of that period came when Richard Carpenter met a well-flighted crossfield ball from Charlie Oatway and hit a huge 25-yard drive against the crossbar. Prior to that, Leon Knight had tested Spurs' goalkeeper, Paul Robinson, with a low shot that was difficult to handle but competently saved.
The tightness of the Brighton midfield at that stage was formidable. Spurs hardly had a convincing chance until the 31st minute, when Stephen Kelly headed productively forward in the penalty area and Robbie Keane's header clipped the bar.
Brighton deserved that escape, but seven minutes later they fell to a set-piece ploy after having survived everything Spurs had thrown at them in open competition. Michael Brown fed a short corner to Reto Ziegler, and his centre found Ledley King positioned in the centre of the penalty area and therefore well placed to loop a header over Michel Kuipers.
Brighton's spirit was not subdued. Two minutes into the second half Spurs conceded a free-kick just outside the penalty area to the right of Robinson's goal.
Knight stepped over the ball and the outstanding Carpenter was confronted by a flimsy looking wall which he beat with a powerful, low and accurate kick that had Robinson totally beaten.
Remarkably, considering that he was head and shoulders shorter than King and Anthony Gardner, Knight was extraordinarily effective, challenging them physically and often beating them both for pace. His diminutive leadership did much to keep Brighton optimistic. A free-kick sent into the middle by Kerry Mayo was headed purposefully on by Gary Hart, and Robinson had to excel with a superb reflex save.
Not to be outdone, Kuipers between the Brighton posts then saved his side from a certain goal. Pedro Mendes, now famed for his speculative long-range shooting, flew one from 30 yards, but Kuipers flung himself across the goal- line to turn the ball away for nothing more damaging than a corner.
That it took Spurs 82 minutes to look like the ascendant team was a great tribute to Brighton. Nevertheless, the Seagulls were finally brought down by a splendid match-winner. The Spurs substitute Michael Yeates, who last year was on loan to Brighton, lifted the ball across the penalty area filled by his old colleagues. It was still high when it came to Keane, who turned and somehow volleyed in to stop Spurs sweating.
"We know good players can do that even when the team's not playing well," said the Brighton manager, Mark McGhee. He should know. He gave Keane his debut when they were both at Wolves.
SUNDAY TELEGRAPH(LONDON)
January 09, 2005, Sunday
SECTION: Sport; Soccer Pg. 03
LENGTH: 415 words
HEADLINE: Keane special scatters Seagulls
BYLINE: BY ANDREW WARSHAW at white hart lane
BODY:
Tottenham2
Brighton1
YOU NEED luck to win the Cup and if Tottenham go all the way this year, they will look back on yesterday as a case in point, Robbie Keane's late winner finally extinguishing the hopes of Championship opponents who, for long periods, more than matched Martin Jol's in-form side.
Poor Mark McGhee. It was the Brighton manager, then boss of Wolves, who gave Keane his professional debut as a precocious 16-year-old back in 1996 and watched him score against Norwich.
Yesterday, McGhee saw Keane chest the ball down before turning and shooting in the same movement for the 100th club goal of his career to save the blushes of a Tottenham side who rarely looked like a team 31 league places above their opponents.
After the game, Keane presented McGhee with a signed Spurs shirt and the message: "Thanks for everything." The Brighton manager showed it to the media and said: "I'm so pleased it was Robbie who got the winner. He doesn't score rubbish goals, does he? But we're a small squad and we came to try to win."
Indeed they did. Brighton hustled their illustrious opponents and, with a bit more luck, might have caused an upset. Having rattled the Spurs crossbar early on, they were unfortunate to be behind at half-time to Ledley King's looping header but, backed by terrific support from 5,000 supporters, were level soon after the restart, Richard Carpenter drilling a free-kick beyond Paul Robinson.
The Seagulls have not got past the third round for 14 years but with the veteran Guy Butters, once of Spurs, one of three central defenders keeping Jermain Defoe quiet and his colleagues showing commendable powers of fitness, they pressurised Spurs.
"Premiership, you're having a laugh," the Brighton fans chanted mockingly after their equaliser and only a fabulous reflex save from Robinson kept out Kerry Mayo's deflected free-kick before Keane, who had earlier hit the woodwork, ruined the party eight minutes from time.
Still, the pounds 250,000 pay-day will be priceless for Brighton, who have spent even more than that on a public inquiry in their quest for a new stadium and have also been hit with a massive tax bill. "Basically, we're skint," McGhee said. "The money from this will take the pressure off the chairman big time."
Jol refused to admit his team were lucky but said it had been harder than he had anticipated. "I did think it might be someone with special qualities who ended up winning the game and Robbie is one of those."
Observer
Keane turns Spurs' luck
Amy Lawrence at White Hart Lane
Sunday January 9, 2005
The Observer
Cruel game, football. Brighton were seven minutes minutes away from arguably the perfect FA Cup result - they could barely have wished for more than a terrific display and a money-spinning replay at the Withdean. Robbie Keane spiked the dream, though, with his 100th career goal. It was a magnificent matchwinner, but, frankly, it hadn't been coming.
Tottenham had not been at their most riveting. But one sign of class is the capacity to change the outcome of a match in an instant. Keane did precisely that, as a high ball fell towards him with his back to goal. The Irish international spun to wallop a shot on the turn into a top corner.
Spurs' relief, as Keane helped them out of a rather large hole, was enormous. They well appreciated they'd required something extra to see off tricky opposition. But then again, after last week's events at Old Trafford, they will feel they deserved a fortunate intervention.
It was a bitter blow for Brighton, who had been on the cusp of a memorable upset. Mark McGhee, having watched his team command long periods of the game, at the final whistle reserved an embrace for Keane - a player to whom he had given a debut at the age of 16 when the pair were employed by Wolves. In return, Keane later gave his old manager his shirt, inscribed with the message: 'To Mark, Thanks for everything, 100th goal today!'
Even more valuable than the personal memento is the £250,000 payday that this match represents to impoverished Brighton. Still without the home they crave, they demonstrated a huge capacity for fighting against all odds.
Brighton's ambition and work-rate were first-class, and made light of the 31 positions separating the two sides. 'We deserve credit for the fact we didn't come to be spoilers, we didn't come for a draw, we came to play football,' said McGhee. Albion duly attacked in numbers when the opportunity presented itself. And what a chance for Richard Carpenter, whose right-foot thump on the quarter-hour lashed against the crossbar.
With Brighton playing the more dynamic football, Spurs struggled to get out of neutral. But they made the breakthrough five minutes before half-time when Michael Brown's short corner was whipped in by Reto Ziegler for Ledley King, whose header looped in at the far post.
But Spurs couldn't afford to be complacent. Three minutes after the break, Carpenter rammed that point home with a stylish, angled free-kick from 20 yards. Brighton fans were in raptures. It was game on.
Albion remained the busier, livelier team. Leon Knight buzzed, Gary Hart chased everything and you sensed they were desperate to create something even more historic. But for a stunning stop from Paul Robinson to deny Hart's instinctive header, they might have found it.
Brighton keeper Michel Kuipers supplied something equally impressive with 15 minutes to go, when Ziegler's dipping shot was palmed away. But there was little he could do to deprive Keane the coup de grace. 'These games are never a walkover,' reflected Martin Jol. 'I knew after half an hour that it would take something of that quality to make the difference.'
And so Brighton return to the everyday business of keeping the club alive. 'If we don't get permission for the stadium in the spring, we will go back down the leagues,' warned McGhee. 'The money we earned here keeps us open. We are literally skint.' And no doubt they wake up this morning a little sad, too. But they will pick themselves up and fight on, as they always do.
Sunday Mirror
January 9, 2005, Sunday
SECTION: 3 Star Edition; SPORT; Pg. 4
LENGTH: 670 words
HEADLINE: FOOTBALL: IT'S ROB JOY;
_TOTTENHAM..2 KING 40, KEANE 83 BRIGHTON.....1 CARPENTER 48 KEANE HITS
BYLINE: RALPH ELLIS
HIGHLIGHT:
BRIGHTON ROCKED: Michael Kuipers is beaten by Ledley King's header Picture: Kent Gavin
BODY:
NOBODY needed to tell Brighton manager Mark McGhee how good Robbie Keane can be.
McGhee, after all, was the manager who first spotted Tottenham's Irish international as a 16-year-old kid in Wolves' youth side and flung him straight into the first team.
But the last time McGhee needed a reminder was yesterday when he was on the brink of a major Cup upset.
His brave Championship side were seven minutes away from forcing the Premiership's form team to an FA Cup replay when Keane snatched it away from them with a piece of brilliance.
The Irish international had nowhere to go, it seems, as he took the ball on his chest just inside Brighton's penalty area with defender Guy Butters marking him closely.
But with a piece of strength and agility he rolled away from the Brighton skipper and struck a falling volley into the far corner of the net.
It was Keane's 10th goal of the season and a reminder that he is still crucial if Martin Jol wants to keep his bandwagon rolling.
There have been other clubs trying to take the veteran Irish star away from White Hart Lane while they have watched Spurs manager Jol experimenting with different combinations in his front line - occasionally leaving Keane on the bench.
But you simply cannot have enough goalscorers of Keane's quality in your club.
Jol's team came into the game on a roll of five wins in their last seven games - and but for that goal that never was at Old Trafford, it would have been six.
But McGhee was determined to give a reminder of why he was once considered the country's hottest managerial prospect.
He frustrated Tottenham, with a five-man defence behind a three-man midfield.
And of his two forwards one of them - Gary Hart - was working so hard he had to play midfield and defence as well as upfront.
Michael Carrick was marked tightly by Richard Carpenter, Brighton's 32-year-old midfield man who has seen service all around the lower divisions with the likes of Fulham, Gillingham and Cardiff.
Spurs had to feed on scraps, with a flick by Keane which bounced off the top of the bar their best opening - and they had a lucky escape when Carpenter's 20-yard drive on 15 minutes smacked the woodwork.
When Spurs went in front, with 40 minutes gone, there was a touch of fortune.
Michael Brown took a quick corner for Reto Ziegler to float in a left-foot centre. Tottenham's new club captain Ledley King jumped for it at the near post but failed to get a proper connection - only for the ball to loop beyond the reach of Brighton keeper Michel Kuipers and into the far corner.
Brighton fought back and showed their character before the half-time whistle. Leon Knight looped a header just over the top.
Then three minutes after the interval came Brighton's big moment.
Brown conceded a free-kick on the edge of the box and when Knight stepped over it Carpenter curled a great shot beyond England keeper Paul Robinson.
Tottenham looked more and more edgy, with Erik Edman collecting a booking for dissent and Robinson producing an international-class save from Hart - but then up popped Keane to win it.
MAN OF THE MATCH
GARY HART
Worked his socks off, because he somehow managed to play both upfront and in midfield and was excellent at both.
RATINGS
TOTTENHAM:
Robinson 6, Kelly 6, King 7, Gardner 6, Edman 6, Brown 6, Mendes 7, Carrick 7, Ziegler 6, Keane 6, Defoe 6.
BRIGHTON:
Kuipers 6, Reid 7, Hinshelwood 7, Butters 7, Virgo 6, Mayo 7, Carpenter 8, Oatway 7, Harding 7, HART 9, Knight 6.
MANAGERS: Jol 6; McGhee 8
REFEREE: A Wiley 7
NERVY Spurs have not lost an FA Cup tie to opposition from a lower division for 16 years, since Bradford from the old Second Division knocked them out in January 1989.
VERDICT
Brighton can feel unlucky at not forcing a replay - but in the end a bit of Premiership class was too much for them. Spurs are getting better every week, and are beginning to be really tough mentally.
ATTENDANCE: 36,094
Sunday Times (London)
January 9, 2005, Sunday
SECTION: Sport; Sport; 7
LENGTH: 494 words
HEADLINE: Spurs grateful for late Keane winner
BYLINE: Brian Glanville at White Hart Lane
BODY:
Tottenham 2 Brighton 1
"I DON'T think we were lucky," said Martin Jol, Tottenham's manager, emphatically, but he was surely in the minority.
Brighton, 31 places behind Tottenham in the League tables, came within an ace of defeating them and might have done so but for goalkeeper Paul Robinson.
Tottenham's winning goal, on 83 minutes, was a gem of opportunism by Robbie Keane.
Erik Edman crossed from the left, Keane skilfully took the ball on his chest, then spun to beat Brighton goalkeeper Michel Kuipers. It was a cruel blow to a team that matched Tottenham throughout.
In the circumstances, Brighton's manager, Mark McGhee, was philosophical, perhaps because Keane, whose career he launched at Wolves, had given him his shirt, inscribed: "To Mark. Thanks for everything."
"There are good players who can do that to you even if they don't have a great day," McGhee said. "There's always danger." Anyway, he added, he would rather lose to a goal such as Keane's, than Tottenham's first, which he described as "a rubbish goal".
For his part, Jol complained that Brighton's goal came from a free kick which should never have been awarded. But what a goal it was. On 48 minutes, Brighton's Richard Carpenter smashed his free kick low into the corner of the Tottenham net, from fully 22 yards out. In the first half, the same right foot had nearly sent Brighton into an unexpected lead, when Carpenter pivoted and drove the ball wide of Robinson, only to see it hit the bar.
Brighton flooded the midfield with five players and it worked. "We tried to stop their passing," said McGhee. "We wanted to limit them to as few passes as possible."
Tottenham's formation did not work as well as Jol had hoped. "Against a packed midfield, you have to play on the flanks," he said. "We tried to do that with Stephen Kelly, but didn't get the ball to him."
Nonetheless, Tottenham took the lead just before half-time. Reto Ziegler crossed after a short corner from the right, and Ledley King sent his back-header curling over Kuipers and into the net.
With Leon Knight testing the Spurs defence, Brighton came close to scoring before the break when Knight got his head to a right-wing cross and Robinson had to stretch desperately to turn it over.
But Robinson's most crucial save came on 64 minutes from Gary Harte's header from an inswinging free kick by Kerry Mayo. Thereafter, Spurs took a grip of the game, Kuipers produced a fine save from Ziegler's drive, before Keane's final execution.
STAR MAN: Richard Carpenter (Brighton) Player ratings. Tottenham: Robinson 8, Kelly 7 (Marney 73min, 6), King 6, Gardner 6, Edman 6, Brown 6, Mendes 6 (Yeates 78min, 7), Carrick 6, Ziegler 6, Defoe 6, Keane 7 Brighton: Kuipers 7, Hinshelwood 7, Butters 7, Virgo 7, Reid 7, Carpenter 8, Oatway 7, Harding 7, Mayo 7, Hart 7, Knight 8 Scorers: Tottenham: King 40, Keane 83 Brighton: Carpenter 48 Referee: A Wiley Attendance: 36,094
January 9, 2005
SECTION: Final Edition; SPORT; Pg. 5
LENGTH: 519 words
HEADLINE: FOOTBALL: KEANE'S CLASSIC ROCKS BRIGHTON;
_TOTTENHAM HOTSPUR 2 KING 40, KEANE 83 BRIGHTON & HOVE ALBION 1
BYLINE: NORMAN FOX
BODY:
Tottenham's revival continues, but none of the Premiership rivals that they have recently overcome had given them more problems than Brighton did in this real, fulfilling and finally thrillingly won Cup tie.
The Championship side had come with a glowing reputation for being stubborn in midfield and defence. The evidence was in their alignment, five in the middle. Spurs found themselves struggling to secure space there, and within the opening 15 minutes could have been a couple of goals in arrears.
By far the most impressive strike of that period came when Richard Carpenter met a well-flighted crossfield ball from Charlie Oatway and hit a huge 25-yard drive against the crossbar. Prior to that, Leon Knight had tested Spurs' goalkeeper, Paul Robinson, with a low shot that was difficult to handle but competently saved.
The tightness of the Brighton midfield at that stage was formidable. Spurs hardly had a convincing chance until the 31st minute, when Stephen Kelly headed productively forward in the penalty area and Robbie Keane's header clipped the bar.
Brighton deserved that escape, but seven minutes later they fell to a set-piece ploy after having survived everything Spurs had thrown at them in open competition. Michael Brown fed a short corner to Reto Ziegler, and his centre found Ledley King positioned in the centre of the penalty area and therefore well placed to loop a header over Michel Kuipers.
Brighton's spirit was not subdued. Two minutes into the second half Spurs conceded a free-kick just outside the penalty area to the right of Robinson's goal.
Knight stepped over the ball and the outstanding Carpenter was confronted by a flimsy looking wall which he beat with a powerful, low and accurate kick that had Robinson totally beaten.
Remarkably, considering that he was head and shoulders shorter than King and Anthony Gardner, Knight was extraordinarily effective, challenging them physically and often beating them both for pace. His diminutive leadership did much to keep Brighton optimistic. A free-kick sent into the middle by Kerry Mayo was headed purposefully on by Gary Hart, and Robinson had to excel with a superb reflex save.
Not to be outdone, Kuipers between the Brighton posts then saved his side from a certain goal. Pedro Mendes, now famed for his speculative long-range shooting, flew one from 30 yards, but Kuipers flung himself across the goal- line to turn the ball away for nothing more damaging than a corner.
That it took Spurs 82 minutes to look like the ascendant team was a great tribute to Brighton. Nevertheless, the Seagulls were finally brought down by a splendid match-winner. The Spurs substitute Michael Yeates, who last year was on loan to Brighton, lifted the ball across the penalty area filled by his old colleagues. It was still high when it came to Keane, who turned and somehow volleyed in to stop Spurs sweating.
"We know good players can do that even when the team's not playing well," said the Brighton manager, Mark McGhee. He should know. He gave Keane his debut when they were both at Wolves.
SUNDAY TELEGRAPH(LONDON)
January 09, 2005, Sunday
SECTION: Sport; Soccer Pg. 03
LENGTH: 415 words
HEADLINE: Keane special scatters Seagulls
BYLINE: BY ANDREW WARSHAW at white hart lane
BODY:
Tottenham2
Brighton1
YOU NEED luck to win the Cup and if Tottenham go all the way this year, they will look back on yesterday as a case in point, Robbie Keane's late winner finally extinguishing the hopes of Championship opponents who, for long periods, more than matched Martin Jol's in-form side.
Poor Mark McGhee. It was the Brighton manager, then boss of Wolves, who gave Keane his professional debut as a precocious 16-year-old back in 1996 and watched him score against Norwich.
Yesterday, McGhee saw Keane chest the ball down before turning and shooting in the same movement for the 100th club goal of his career to save the blushes of a Tottenham side who rarely looked like a team 31 league places above their opponents.
After the game, Keane presented McGhee with a signed Spurs shirt and the message: "Thanks for everything." The Brighton manager showed it to the media and said: "I'm so pleased it was Robbie who got the winner. He doesn't score rubbish goals, does he? But we're a small squad and we came to try to win."
Indeed they did. Brighton hustled their illustrious opponents and, with a bit more luck, might have caused an upset. Having rattled the Spurs crossbar early on, they were unfortunate to be behind at half-time to Ledley King's looping header but, backed by terrific support from 5,000 supporters, were level soon after the restart, Richard Carpenter drilling a free-kick beyond Paul Robinson.
The Seagulls have not got past the third round for 14 years but with the veteran Guy Butters, once of Spurs, one of three central defenders keeping Jermain Defoe quiet and his colleagues showing commendable powers of fitness, they pressurised Spurs.
"Premiership, you're having a laugh," the Brighton fans chanted mockingly after their equaliser and only a fabulous reflex save from Robinson kept out Kerry Mayo's deflected free-kick before Keane, who had earlier hit the woodwork, ruined the party eight minutes from time.
Still, the pounds 250,000 pay-day will be priceless for Brighton, who have spent even more than that on a public inquiry in their quest for a new stadium and have also been hit with a massive tax bill. "Basically, we're skint," McGhee said. "The money from this will take the pressure off the chairman big time."
Jol refused to admit his team were lucky but said it had been harder than he had anticipated. "I did think it might be someone with special qualities who ended up winning the game and Robbie is one of those."
Observer
Keane turns Spurs' luck
Amy Lawrence at White Hart Lane
Sunday January 9, 2005
The Observer
Cruel game, football. Brighton were seven minutes minutes away from arguably the perfect FA Cup result - they could barely have wished for more than a terrific display and a money-spinning replay at the Withdean. Robbie Keane spiked the dream, though, with his 100th career goal. It was a magnificent matchwinner, but, frankly, it hadn't been coming.
Tottenham had not been at their most riveting. But one sign of class is the capacity to change the outcome of a match in an instant. Keane did precisely that, as a high ball fell towards him with his back to goal. The Irish international spun to wallop a shot on the turn into a top corner.
Spurs' relief, as Keane helped them out of a rather large hole, was enormous. They well appreciated they'd required something extra to see off tricky opposition. But then again, after last week's events at Old Trafford, they will feel they deserved a fortunate intervention.
It was a bitter blow for Brighton, who had been on the cusp of a memorable upset. Mark McGhee, having watched his team command long periods of the game, at the final whistle reserved an embrace for Keane - a player to whom he had given a debut at the age of 16 when the pair were employed by Wolves. In return, Keane later gave his old manager his shirt, inscribed with the message: 'To Mark, Thanks for everything, 100th goal today!'
Even more valuable than the personal memento is the £250,000 payday that this match represents to impoverished Brighton. Still without the home they crave, they demonstrated a huge capacity for fighting against all odds.
Brighton's ambition and work-rate were first-class, and made light of the 31 positions separating the two sides. 'We deserve credit for the fact we didn't come to be spoilers, we didn't come for a draw, we came to play football,' said McGhee. Albion duly attacked in numbers when the opportunity presented itself. And what a chance for Richard Carpenter, whose right-foot thump on the quarter-hour lashed against the crossbar.
With Brighton playing the more dynamic football, Spurs struggled to get out of neutral. But they made the breakthrough five minutes before half-time when Michael Brown's short corner was whipped in by Reto Ziegler for Ledley King, whose header looped in at the far post.
But Spurs couldn't afford to be complacent. Three minutes after the break, Carpenter rammed that point home with a stylish, angled free-kick from 20 yards. Brighton fans were in raptures. It was game on.
Albion remained the busier, livelier team. Leon Knight buzzed, Gary Hart chased everything and you sensed they were desperate to create something even more historic. But for a stunning stop from Paul Robinson to deny Hart's instinctive header, they might have found it.
Brighton keeper Michel Kuipers supplied something equally impressive with 15 minutes to go, when Ziegler's dipping shot was palmed away. But there was little he could do to deprive Keane the coup de grace. 'These games are never a walkover,' reflected Martin Jol. 'I knew after half an hour that it would take something of that quality to make the difference.'
And so Brighton return to the everyday business of keeping the club alive. 'If we don't get permission for the stadium in the spring, we will go back down the leagues,' warned McGhee. 'The money we earned here keeps us open. We are literally skint.' And no doubt they wake up this morning a little sad, too. But they will pick themselves up and fight on, as they always do.
Sunday Mirror
January 9, 2005, Sunday
SECTION: 3 Star Edition; SPORT; Pg. 4
LENGTH: 670 words
HEADLINE: FOOTBALL: IT'S ROB JOY;
_TOTTENHAM..2 KING 40, KEANE 83 BRIGHTON.....1 CARPENTER 48 KEANE HITS
BYLINE: RALPH ELLIS
HIGHLIGHT:
BRIGHTON ROCKED: Michael Kuipers is beaten by Ledley King's header Picture: Kent Gavin
BODY:
NOBODY needed to tell Brighton manager Mark McGhee how good Robbie Keane can be.
McGhee, after all, was the manager who first spotted Tottenham's Irish international as a 16-year-old kid in Wolves' youth side and flung him straight into the first team.
But the last time McGhee needed a reminder was yesterday when he was on the brink of a major Cup upset.
His brave Championship side were seven minutes away from forcing the Premiership's form team to an FA Cup replay when Keane snatched it away from them with a piece of brilliance.
The Irish international had nowhere to go, it seems, as he took the ball on his chest just inside Brighton's penalty area with defender Guy Butters marking him closely.
But with a piece of strength and agility he rolled away from the Brighton skipper and struck a falling volley into the far corner of the net.
It was Keane's 10th goal of the season and a reminder that he is still crucial if Martin Jol wants to keep his bandwagon rolling.
There have been other clubs trying to take the veteran Irish star away from White Hart Lane while they have watched Spurs manager Jol experimenting with different combinations in his front line - occasionally leaving Keane on the bench.
But you simply cannot have enough goalscorers of Keane's quality in your club.
Jol's team came into the game on a roll of five wins in their last seven games - and but for that goal that never was at Old Trafford, it would have been six.
But McGhee was determined to give a reminder of why he was once considered the country's hottest managerial prospect.
He frustrated Tottenham, with a five-man defence behind a three-man midfield.
And of his two forwards one of them - Gary Hart - was working so hard he had to play midfield and defence as well as upfront.
Michael Carrick was marked tightly by Richard Carpenter, Brighton's 32-year-old midfield man who has seen service all around the lower divisions with the likes of Fulham, Gillingham and Cardiff.
Spurs had to feed on scraps, with a flick by Keane which bounced off the top of the bar their best opening - and they had a lucky escape when Carpenter's 20-yard drive on 15 minutes smacked the woodwork.
When Spurs went in front, with 40 minutes gone, there was a touch of fortune.
Michael Brown took a quick corner for Reto Ziegler to float in a left-foot centre. Tottenham's new club captain Ledley King jumped for it at the near post but failed to get a proper connection - only for the ball to loop beyond the reach of Brighton keeper Michel Kuipers and into the far corner.
Brighton fought back and showed their character before the half-time whistle. Leon Knight looped a header just over the top.
Then three minutes after the interval came Brighton's big moment.
Brown conceded a free-kick on the edge of the box and when Knight stepped over it Carpenter curled a great shot beyond England keeper Paul Robinson.
Tottenham looked more and more edgy, with Erik Edman collecting a booking for dissent and Robinson producing an international-class save from Hart - but then up popped Keane to win it.
MAN OF THE MATCH
GARY HART
Worked his socks off, because he somehow managed to play both upfront and in midfield and was excellent at both.
RATINGS
TOTTENHAM:
Robinson 6, Kelly 6, King 7, Gardner 6, Edman 6, Brown 6, Mendes 7, Carrick 7, Ziegler 6, Keane 6, Defoe 6.
BRIGHTON:
Kuipers 6, Reid 7, Hinshelwood 7, Butters 7, Virgo 6, Mayo 7, Carpenter 8, Oatway 7, Harding 7, HART 9, Knight 6.
MANAGERS: Jol 6; McGhee 8
REFEREE: A Wiley 7
NERVY Spurs have not lost an FA Cup tie to opposition from a lower division for 16 years, since Bradford from the old Second Division knocked them out in January 1989.
VERDICT
Brighton can feel unlucky at not forcing a replay - but in the end a bit of Premiership class was too much for them. Spurs are getting better every week, and are beginning to be really tough mentally.
ATTENDANCE: 36,094
Sunday Times (London)
January 9, 2005, Sunday
SECTION: Sport; Sport; 7
LENGTH: 494 words
HEADLINE: Spurs grateful for late Keane winner
BYLINE: Brian Glanville at White Hart Lane
BODY:
Tottenham 2 Brighton 1
"I DON'T think we were lucky," said Martin Jol, Tottenham's manager, emphatically, but he was surely in the minority.
Brighton, 31 places behind Tottenham in the League tables, came within an ace of defeating them and might have done so but for goalkeeper Paul Robinson.
Tottenham's winning goal, on 83 minutes, was a gem of opportunism by Robbie Keane.
Erik Edman crossed from the left, Keane skilfully took the ball on his chest, then spun to beat Brighton goalkeeper Michel Kuipers. It was a cruel blow to a team that matched Tottenham throughout.
In the circumstances, Brighton's manager, Mark McGhee, was philosophical, perhaps because Keane, whose career he launched at Wolves, had given him his shirt, inscribed: "To Mark. Thanks for everything."
"There are good players who can do that to you even if they don't have a great day," McGhee said. "There's always danger." Anyway, he added, he would rather lose to a goal such as Keane's, than Tottenham's first, which he described as "a rubbish goal".
For his part, Jol complained that Brighton's goal came from a free kick which should never have been awarded. But what a goal it was. On 48 minutes, Brighton's Richard Carpenter smashed his free kick low into the corner of the Tottenham net, from fully 22 yards out. In the first half, the same right foot had nearly sent Brighton into an unexpected lead, when Carpenter pivoted and drove the ball wide of Robinson, only to see it hit the bar.
Brighton flooded the midfield with five players and it worked. "We tried to stop their passing," said McGhee. "We wanted to limit them to as few passes as possible."
Tottenham's formation did not work as well as Jol had hoped. "Against a packed midfield, you have to play on the flanks," he said. "We tried to do that with Stephen Kelly, but didn't get the ball to him."
Nonetheless, Tottenham took the lead just before half-time. Reto Ziegler crossed after a short corner from the right, and Ledley King sent his back-header curling over Kuipers and into the net.
With Leon Knight testing the Spurs defence, Brighton came close to scoring before the break when Knight got his head to a right-wing cross and Robinson had to stretch desperately to turn it over.
But Robinson's most crucial save came on 64 minutes from Gary Harte's header from an inswinging free kick by Kerry Mayo. Thereafter, Spurs took a grip of the game, Kuipers produced a fine save from Ziegler's drive, before Keane's final execution.
STAR MAN: Richard Carpenter (Brighton) Player ratings. Tottenham: Robinson 8, Kelly 7 (Marney 73min, 6), King 6, Gardner 6, Edman 6, Brown 6, Mendes 6 (Yeates 78min, 7), Carrick 6, Ziegler 6, Defoe 6, Keane 7 Brighton: Kuipers 7, Hinshelwood 7, Butters 7, Virgo 7, Reid 7, Carpenter 8, Oatway 7, Harding 7, Mayo 7, Hart 7, Knight 8 Scorers: Tottenham: King 40, Keane 83 Brighton: Carpenter 48 Referee: A Wiley Attendance: 36,094
i feel more gutted we didn't get the draw now! 
