Rene Meulensteen was cruelly denied a dream start to life as manager of Fulham with his side floundering to a 2-1 loss to Tottenham at Craven Cottage.
The Dutchman, who took the reins from Martin Jol this week, saw his side take the lead early in the second half before conceding twice late to allow Spurs to head back to north London with all three points.
Ashkan Dejagah gave the Cottagers the advantage in the 56th minute when he raced onto a pinpoint ball from ex-Spurs ace Dimitar Berbatov to fire home but the visitors managed to level a little over 15 minutes later through Vlad Chiriches who rifled into the back of the net after a corner was not cleared by the Fulham defence.
Just as it appeared Fulham would at least grab a point, substitute Lewis Holtby turned it on by producing a classy winner in the 82nd minute after cutting inside and giving Maarten Stekelenburg no chance at all.
The win was sixth-placed Tottenham's first in five Premier League outings, producing a sigh of relief from under-fire manager Andre Villas-Boas, while Fulham remain in the relegation zone with just 10 points from 14 outings.
2013/14 Premier League scores
Fulham: 1 (Ashkan Dejagah 56') Tottenham: 2 (Vlad Chiriches 73', Lewis Holtby 82') Craven Cottage, London - 24,128
