Tottenham substitutes Darren Bent and Jamie O'Hara grabbed the goals to earn victory over Portsmouth but Juande Ramos took the plaudits again for his daring tactical moves.
Ramos' changes altered the Carling Cup final against Chelsea last month and the recent Barclays Premier League clash against the same opposition - and he looked to his bench again when Pompey looked set to earn a point at White Hart Lane.
With 20 minutes remaining Ramos took off a centre-back, introducing Bent for Michael Dawson, while O'Hara came on for Aaron Lennon.
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Within 10 minutes, Bent nodded home after Dimitar Berbatov scuffed a shot into his path. Bent then raided down the right and crossed for O'Hara to tap into an unguarded net.
"We take off a defender when it is urgent," Ramos said. "It brings a risk and today it paid off, other times it doesn't pay off in the same way.
"The decisions to make changes are not made for the sake of it. It is to turn matches around. They have worked well. The players are aware of why we make them - a solution for a game that is blocked up."
Until the changes, the match looked to be fizzling out towards a goalless draw.
Dawson thumped a volley against the crossbar in the first half, David James made a couple of comfortable saves and Pascal Chimbonda went just wide from the edge of the area - but clear chances proved difficult to create.
Flowing football was made difficult by swirling wind, sleet and snow punctuating the match.
While Pompey were on the back foot for much of the time - not helped by a hamstring injury to Lassana Diarra on the eve of the match and Jermain Defoe being ineligible - they weathered the storm and almost scored just before Bent broke the deadlock.
Glen Johnson's cross caused goalkeeper Paul Robinson to hesitate and Kanu was presented with an open goal - but Didier Zokora raced back to clear.
Then came the two goals, in the 80th and 82nd minute.
"Benty opened up the whole match," said Spurs assistant boss Gus Poyet. "The substitutes don't always know how important they can be."
Pompey boss Harry Redknapp admitted his side have one eye on Wembley in a fortnight when they face West Brom in the FA Cup semi-final.
Redknapp also had Sol Campbell and Lauren out, while Sylvain Distin nearly missed the game as his wife was due to give birth.
"I was going to play (assistant) Tony Adams, he could still do it - he wouldn't let you down," Redknapp said.
The Pompey boss added: "Our priority is the cup, we have to try to beat West Brom and reach the final.
"It would have been nice to have taken a point but they have some good players. We are sixth and they are 11th and that shows you how well we have done."
Focus will inevitably now be on Bent and whether he can break the partnership of Robbie Keane and Berbatov.
"We know how many goals Robbie and Berba have scored - it's a good partnership," Poyet added. "But if he keeps coming on and scoring goals he will get his chance sooner or later."
Bent said: "It's good to come to do something and change the game. There is no point in me sulking about it and not doing anything when I come on.
"I have to keep going and see what happens. All I can do is keep plugging away and doing what I can do.
"They (Keane and Berbatov) have more than 40 goals between them so it is difficult, but I knew that before I got here. I'm ready for the challenge."
A GUARANTEED PROFIT OF AT LEAST £36.50 ON SOUTHEND v DONCASTER
Did you know that it is possible to win money on Friday evening's League One Play-Off clash between Southend and Doncaster, whatever the result?
The game kicks off at 7.45pm and we can guarantee you a profit of at least £36.50, whatever the result of the match. All you have to do is follow the simple instructions below and then sit back and enjoy the game. At full-time, you will be at least £36.50 better off, whatever the result of the match.
We must point out that if you want to take this bet, you should do it now because if the odds change, then the figures here will be invalidated. If they have changed, let us know and we will rework the bet for you.
You can still do this if you have a Betfair account but your overall profit will be reduced by £25.00 as you won't receive the £25.00 cashback as an existing account holder.
If you are unsure about this bet, you are most welcome to call us on 01642 223229 and we will help you as much as we can.
We're going to lay out a total of £71.00 on the Southend v Doncaster match and we will collect £107.50 if Doncaster win, £107.50 if Southend win and £107.81 if it's a draw. That's a minimum profit of 51%, a much higher interest rate than you will get in any high street bank.
Here's how it's done. Just follow these simple instructions.
1. Open an account with Coral. It is really important that you enter the bonus code of CORALTD when prompted. This is to ensure that you receive your bonus.
Open an account with Betfair. It is really important that you enter the promotional code of BFB425 when prompted. This is to ensure that you receive your bonus.
Place £20.00 on Doncaster at 2.75 (7/4) with Coral.
Coral will now add a £10.00 bonus to your account. Place this on Doncaster as well. You will now have £30.00 riding on Doncaster.
Back the draw with £26.00 at 3.3 (9/4) (or higher if available) with Betfair.
Place £25.00 on Southend at 2.15 (23/20) with Extrabet.
Extrabet match your first bet up to £25 so you will now have £50.00 riding on Southend.
The £25.00 matched bet will not show in your account but you can read all about how it works on the Extrabet site. It's the purple box that says '£25 FREE BET FOR NEW CUSTOMERS' on the top right hand side. Click here to visit the Extrabet site.
If you are unsure about placing these bets, please feel free to mail us or call us on 01642 223229 and we will talk you through it, no problem at all. There is no such thing as a stupid question.
You have temporarily laid out a total of £71.00 on the Southend v Doncaster match. I stress, temporarily... Now sit back, crack a beer open and enjoy the match.
4. Here's what happens at the end of the game.
If Doncaster win, you collect £107.50. That's £82.50 from Coral plus a £25.00 cashback from Betfair.
If it's a draw, you collect £107.81. That's £82.81 from Betfair plus a £25.00 cashback from Betfair.
If Southend win you collect £107.50. That's £82.50 from Extrabet plus a £25.00 cashback from Betfair.
5. This means that the worst case scenario on the Southend v Doncaster match is no draw and you make £36.50 profit. However, if it is a draw you make £36.81. That's a minimum profit of 51%, a much better rate of interest that you would get at any high street bank or building society.
6. It is absolutely vital that you click on the links on this page to open the accounts with the two bookies and enter the correct bonus codes or you may not qualify for the bonuses.
Also, before you place your bets, you should check that the odds haven't changed. If they have, let us know by mail or phone us on 01642 223229 and we will rework the bet for you.
Please feel free to contact us or phone us on 01642 223229 if you have any questions at all about this bet and we will help you as much as we can.
Please note that the bonuses are valid for new customers only so if you already have an account with one or more of the bookies we are using, you won't be able to do this. If that is the case, mail us or phone us on 01642 223229 and we'll create an alternative bet for you using different bookies.
This method of betting was used very successfully during the 2006 World Cup and you can read all about how it was done right here.
We guarantee this bet
It's understandable that some people will not believe that it is possible to do this. "What's the catch?" I hear you asking. My answer to that question is that we have been publishing arbitrage bets for four seasons now and literally hundreds of people have profited from following the advice on these pages.
Only twice has our refund guarantee been triggered and that was when we did all the figures wrong and sent refunds out to those who had followed our advice and made a small loss.
Our refund guarantee works like this. If this bet doesn't work like we say it will and you end up out of pocket, we will refund your losses. Simple as that.
That means that you simply cannot lose on this, whatever happens and even if we messed up the numbers.
The only stipulation here is that you must click on the links on this page to be eligible for the refund guarantee, not that you'll be needing to claim anyway. Just enjoy the profit and stay posted for many more of these throughout the season.
