Cerny blunder leaves Spurs with UEFA fight

PRAGUE, Czech Republic -- Tottenham edged towards the last-16 of the UEFA Cup with 2-1 victory over Slavia Prague but Radek Cerny gifted his former club a lifeline with a second-half blunder in the first-leg clash.

Dimitar Berbatov and Robbie Keane, who now have 36 goals between them this season, struck in the first half to provide a cushion for Juande Ramos' side as they prepare for the Carling Cup final on Sunday week.

In sub-zero temperatures in the Czech capital, Spurs were cruising until Cerny dropped the ball under his crossbar and David Strihavka finished.

Skipper Keane, asked whether Spurs should have put the tie beyond Slavia's reach, told TV station Five: "We certainly should have. In the first half we played brilliantly, they didn't get a sniff.

"We came out in the second half and I don't know what happened, we knew they would come out and make it difficult for us. The second half performance was not good enough."

As for Cerny's mistake, Keane said: "Things happen, he made a mistake but he's big enough to accept that. We've won the game, that's the most important thing. But we wanted to get the job finished today."

Spurs will face PSV Eindhoven or Helsingborg if they defend their lead in the second leg of the tie next week, although their eyes may be on Wembley and opponents Chelsea if they are not already.

Ledley King was on the bench in Prague but his knee was not risked in the freezing conditions for fear of missing the showpiece against Chelsea.

Jermaine Jenas, whose recent form earned him a goalscoring-start for England in Fabio Capello's first match as coach, set up both first-half goals for Spurs.

The opener coming in the fourth minute after a typical surging run. He was stopped on the edge of the area but the ball ran for Berbatov whose low volley caught goalkeeper Martin Vaniak poorly positioned.

Slavia, who are top of their domestic league but have not played for two months due to their winter break, found themselves two down on the half-hour.

Jenas split the defense and Keane finished calmly past Vaniak, who got his angles wrong.

Berbatov forced Vaniak into a double save just before the break when he almost finished off a flowing move with flicks from Keane and Aaron Lennon confusing the hosts.

Tom Huddlestone also forced a full-stretch save from the Slavia goalkeeper, who was atoning for his part in Spurs' goals. Huddlestone beat Vaniak early in the second period after weaving through the Slavia defence - but his shot rebounded off the woodwork.

Spurs keeper Cerny, who was given a warm reception by home fans on his return, was having a quiet night, but that changed 21 minutes from time when he failed to deal with Hubacek's hanging cross and Strihavka prodded the ball over the line.

Erich Brabec could have levelled but hit the bar from a corner with five minutes left, with Cerny stranded.

El-Hadji Diouf gave Bolton a slim advantage against 10-man Atletico Madrid going into the second leg of the UEFA Cup next week in Spain.

The Senegal striker scored in the 74th minute -- his fifth goal of the season --following good work by Stelios Giannakopoulos and Matt Taylor.

Diouf's strike came a minute after Sergio Aguero had been sent off apparently for spitting following a challenge on Taylor.

Bolton were being backed by their biggest crowd of the season -- 26,163 -- and expectation was high at the start of the second half, but the slender lead means a battle in Madrid.

Fiorentina snatched a 1-0 first leg advantage against Rosenborg in Norway thanks to a 16th minute goal by Romanian striker Adrian Mutu.

There was also an away success for Hamburg who triumphed 3-1 at Zurich after a goalless first half thanks to goals from Jarolim (49), Olic (68) and Trochowski on 77.

Portuguese giants Benfica will also have a one-goal advantage over Nuremberg for the second leg in Germany next week as Ariza Makukula scored the only goal of the match in the 43rd minute. E-mail to a friend