Paul Robinson returned from the wilderness to propel a timid Tottenham Hotspur into the last 16 of the Uefa Cup last night. In doing so, he as good as booked his place in goal to face Chelsea in the Carling Cup final at Wembley on Sunday.

As Tottenham struggled to hang on in the second leg of their round-of-32 tie with Slavia Prague at White Hart Lane, it was Robinson who came to their rescue. With 15 minutes left, Milan Ivana’s free kick appeared destined for the net until the former England No 1’s flying intervention.

It was the Robinson of old, as he had demonstrated in the first half with a twisting save to keep out a dipping drive from Jaroslav Cerny and, despite frazzled nerves all round, Tottenham survived to earn a tie with PSV Eindhoven next month.

For now, however, Chelsea dominate their thoughts. And what a difference a week makes. In the first leg in Prague last week, Radek Cerny wore the goalkeeper’s jersey. However, in his tenth match since taking Robinson’s place, he blundered to allow the Slavia goal in Tottenham’s nervy 2-1 victory.

Juande Ramos, the head coach, has showed his ruthlessness before and he did it again. Cerny was dropped last night, reluctantly took Robinson’s place on the bench and could only watch with a mixture of horror and admiration. Robinson was back.

“I have got to answer only to myself,” Robinson said. “I know how I have been playing, or not been playing as the case may be. I just wanted to get back in the team and get back on track. I’d like to think I’ll play at Wembley. I hope so.”

Ramos, as usual, would give nothing away. “Yes, Paul did a great job tonight,” the Spaniard said. “He did everything he had to do, he completed his task perfectly. He has had a bit of time without playing, but I thought his performance was magnificent. We now have three days to recover before Sunday and before we have a close look at our line-up. There are a lot of things to consider before deciding on the team.”

Robinson will also have caught the eye of Fabio Capello, the England manager, who was watching in the stands. Was it enough to earn a recall for the friendly against France in Paris next month? Again, Ramos erred on the side of caution. “It is a decision that belongs to the national team manager,” Ramos said. “He selects those that he thinks will do best. Paul had a magnificent game for us, but it is up to Capello to evaluate who will play. It’s not up to me to interfere.”

It is perhaps rough luck on Cerny, the former Slavia goalkeeper, who had let in only nine goals in his ten matches. In Tottenham terms, that is solid form. Yet he paid for his error in his home city of Prague and, barring an injury to Robinson, seems certain to miss out on probably the biggest game of his career.

Robinson, named as captain in the absence of Ledley King and Robbie Keane, did not have much to do early on. Tottenham were superior in most departments and it helped that it took only seven minutes for them to stretch their aggregate advantage to 3-1. They could almost relax. Dimitar Berbatov flicked on Frantisek Drizdal’s half-clearance to Jamie O’Hara and the 21-year-old midfield player drove in his first goal for the club with the aid of a generous deflection off Martin Latka. Michal Vorel, the Slavia goalkeeper, had no chance.

Berbatov went close to increasing the lead when his looping header from O’Hara’s hanging cross almost did the trick until a fingertip from Vorel turned the ball on to the bar. Just as in Prague, though, Tottenham curiously deteriorated from a position of strength to one of weakness, nervously allowing Slavia back into contention.

In the 51st minute, Slavia gave themselves a glimmer of hope when David Hubacek crossed delightfully from the left into the corridor of uncertainty between goalkeeper and defenders and Matej Krajcik ghosted in at the far post to guide the ball in.

Robinson could not be faulted for the goal, however, and, after David Strihavka had struck a post, he showed his wellbeing with that stunning late save from Ivana. On Sunday, he is likely to be even busier.

Tottenham Hotspur (4-1-3-2): P Robinson T Tainio, Y Kaboul, J Woodgate, P Chimbonda (sub: S Malbranque, 61min) D Zokora A Lennon (sub: J Jenas, 70), T Huddlestone, J O’Hara D Bent, D Berbatov (sub: R Keane, 46).
Substitutes not used: R Cerny, Lee Young Pyo, A Taarabt, R Rocha. Booked: O’Hara.

Slavia Prague (4-1-4-1): M Vorel F Drizdal (sub: L Volesak, 81), M Latka, E Brabec, D Hubacek M Suchy M Krajcek (sub: T Belaid, 87), D Kalivoda (sub: M Ivana, 46), J Cerny, D Pudil – D Strihavka.
Substitutes not used: M Vaniak, M Tavares, O Sourek. Booked: Pudil, Ivana.

Referee: J Eriksson (Sweden).

Last 16 draw

Anderlecht v Bayern Munich Bolton Wanderers v Sporting Lisbon Bayer Leverkusen v SV Hamburg Fiorentina v Everton Getafe v Benfica Marseilles v Zenit St Petersburg Rangers v Werder Bremen or Braga Tottenham Hotspur v PSV Eindhoven

First legs to be played on March 6, second legs on March 12 and 13