George Graham's former club Arsenal wait in the FA Cup semi-final, his record signing Sergei Rebrov finally made his mark and his youngsters outshone their more illustrious West Ham counterparts.

Altogether, not a bad day at the office for 'Stroller'.

And when Graham meets representatives of the club's new owners, ENIC, next week to discuss the way forward, the future will suddenly look all that much brighter for Tottenham.

For there is a '1' at the end of the year, Spurs could be on their way to Cardiff, if not Wembley, and they achieved a victory with a performance brimming with excitement and flair as well as guts and passion.

The considerable challenge of a North London derby against Arsenal may await them in the semi-final, just as it did the last time they won the FA Cup back in 1991.

However, in a quarter-final tie which taught Sven-Goran Eriksson everything there is to know about English cup football within the space of 90 minutes, Tottenham saved their season - and possibly their manager's job.

Graham was indebted to his team as a whole for a display full of heart as they despatched a West Ham side whose name had appeared to be on the cup after victories against Walsall, Manchester United and Sunderland.

However, striker Rebrov answered the critics who had questioned the wisdom of his £11million move last summer with two goals and one assist, while keeper Neil Sullivan was simply inspired.

Stuart Pearce completed what his manager Harry Redknapp had insisted would have to be a "miracle" recovery from injury to not only play but also equalise Rebrov's opener with a free-kick two minutes before the break.

However, Rebrov scored his second on 56 minutes as West Ham's defence creaked before collapsing completely to allow Gary Doherty to head home from the Ukraine international's corner five minutes later.

West Ham managed to pull a goal back with 17 minutes left through substitute Svetoslav Todorov and launched a furious late onslaught but it was not enough.

Tottenham celebrated and a cup tie which was billed by the pre-match announcer as more of an East End cliffhanger than who shot Phil Mitchell was finally decided.

The match certainly held the key to the rest of the season for two sides who have been under-performing in the league.

West Ham were back at full strength, with not only Pearce but also Michael Carrick and Frederic Kanoute returning, while Steffen Iversen made his first start for Tottenham since the end of September.

The striker was lining up in the unaccustomed role of wing-back, which was quite a selection decision by Graham in such a vital game, although it was hardly an example of the negative tactics for which he is so often criticised.

Chances were few and far between in a typically highly-charged opening, but Tottenham grew in stature as they gradually took control.

And it was their youngsters, Doherty, Luke Young, Stephen Clemence and Ledley King, who were at the heart of their accomplished display, led from the back by Sol Campbell.

Tottenham's scoring may have been their main problem in the league, with just eight goals in their past 12 Premiership games, but they had scored nine times in their three previous FA Cup ties this season.

And the knock-out competition duly brought out the best in their attacking endeavour again.

Shaka Hislop was equal to Les Ferdinand's drive and Stephen Clemence half-volley, but only the upright saved West Ham as Luke Young rose above Sebastien Schemmel to head goalwards.

With Joe Cole virtually man-marked by Steffen Freund, it was left to Paolo di Canio to find the space from which to inspire West Ham.

However, that space was at a premium as Tottenham were in an inspired mood and, despite a volley off target by Michael Carrick, Graham's side were steadily increasing their pressure.

Their domination finally told when West Ham failed to deal with a long throw-in and Rebrov swivelled inside the penalty area before letting fly with a blistering volley.

Tottenham looked determined to hang onto that advantage until the break, but that was reckoning without Pearce's intervention.

There were six players in the Tottenham wall when the veteran defender lined up his free-kick, but he charged up to the ball and struck an unstoppable dead-ball effort past Neil Sullivan.

Pearce's wife calls him the FA Cup 'nearly man' after his Wembley defeats while at Nottingham Forest and Newcastle, the former - ironically - despite having scored against Tottenham in 1991.

And while the Hammers briefly continued their rally after their interval, Kanoute miscued a shot horribly wide and it proved to be only a temporary respite from Tottenham's pressure.

The home side were again indebted to Hislop as he dived full-length to keep out a stinging drive by Campbell.

However, Spurs' pressure duly told for a second time as Ferdinand rose high to flick a header into the path of Rebrov on 56 minutes and the striker finished with aplomb yet again under the body of the exposed Hislop.

Sullivan saved a deflected shot by Lampard, but back came Tottenham five minutes later to take advantage of the chaotic defending which at times undermined West Ham even before the departure of Rio Ferdinand.

Rebrov's corner flew straight to Gary Doherty standing unmarked at the far post and his header bounced between Cole's attempted block on the line and Hislop's desperate dive.

Not that suicidal defending was confined to one end of the pitch, however, for West Ham somehow managed to get back into the game with 17 minutes left.

Cole's through-ball was going nowhere until it flicked off the boot of Young and, with Campbell failing to clear it, the ball fell into the path of substitute Svetoslav Todorov, who slipped his shot past Hislop.

West Ham appealed for at least one penalty in the frantic finale, while Sullivan conjured two magnificent saves to deny first Kanoute and then Lampard's late header.

It was a cup tie that had twisted and turned in captivating the audience. But the net result was that Tottenham were deservedly through.

The drama is far from over just yet though. For Arsenal await Graham now.

Teams

West Ham: Hislop, Winterburn, Stuart Pearce, Stimac, Dailly, Schemmel (Todorov 67), Lampard, Cole, Carrick, Di Canio, Kanoute.

Subs Not Used: Forrest, Ian Pearce, Song, Moncur.

Goals: Stuart Pearce 43, Todorov 72.

Tottenham: Sullivan, Young, Campbell, Perry, Freund, Clemence, King, Doherty, Ferdinand (Korsten 88), Iversen, Rebrov.

Subs Not Used: Walker, Gardner, Etherington, Davies.

Booked: Sullivan, Clemence, Doherty, Ferdinand.

Goals: Rebrov 31, 57, Doherty 62.

Att: 26,048

Ref: A D'Urso (Billericay).