Capital One Cup: Tottenham hold slender lead over Sheffield United on eve of second-leg tie at Bramall Lane

Tottenham Hotspur would advance to the second leg of the Capital One Cup semifinal with an advantage over Sheffield United, thanks to Andros Townsend's penalty late in the second-half of the game.

Spurs were left frustrated by the League One side and the game looked likely to end in a goalless draw, before Jay McEveley's needless handball in the 74th minute gave them a spot-kick, which Townsend converted. Emmanuel Adebayor shot over, Townsend fired wide and Eric Dier also had a header saved for Premier League Tottenham, the BBC reported.

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Sheffield created little and must win the second leg at Bramall Lane to advance to the Capital One Cup semifinal. Nigel Clough's side, currently seventh in the third tier of English football, had defeated West Ham United and Southampton in earlier rounds of this season's competition but they never looked like beating Tottenham on Wednesday. 

However, Sheffield did produce a resolute performance to restrict the hosts' opportunities and looked on course to head to the second leg at Bramall Lane on 28 January with a hard-earned goalless draw. But their hopes suffered a blow when defender McEveley, under pressure from substitute Roberto Soldado, raised his arms and handled in the area for a clear-cut penalty, which Townsend easily converted to give Tottenham a win.