Roberto Soldado has bagged his first Premier League goal of the year to help Tottenham Hotspur earn a slender 1-0 half-time lead over Cardiff City at White Hart Lane.

Spurs fashioned the game's first opportunity but Andros Townsend's fiercely-struck shot was parried past the post by David Marshall on 13 minutes.

Soldado fired Tim Sherwood's troops ahead close to the half-hour mark, receiving a threaded pass from Emmanuel Adebayor before shooting beyond Marshall.

City responded well to falling behind and came within the width of the crossbar from forcing an immediate riposte through former Tottenham defender Steven Caulker.