Tottenham and Blackburn began the afternoon in the bottom three but it was Spurs who came storming out of it by full time as they edged out their opponents on a chilly afternoon at White Hart Lane. Phase one of Harry Redknapp’s plan, to get out of the bottom three, appears completed and the Messiah’s fantastic start as boss continued.
Former Spurs keeper Paul Robinson returned to White Hart Lane for the first time since his departure as the teams took the field with no real surprises in the selection. Ledley King returned to captain the Tottenham side and Darren Bent and Roman Pavlyuchenko started a game together for the first time, after former boss Juande Ramos had deemed the pair unfit to play together.
It was Spurs who had the first scare however as the ever worrying Heurelho Gomes contrived to spill a Morten Gamst Pedersen corner, causing mayhem. Tottenham however survived the scare in the best way possible as Aaron Lennon robbed Aaron Mokoena and skipped down the pitch into the Blackburn area to pull back for Pavlyuchenko, who calmly fired into the back of the net. Pavlyuchenko was unlucky not to have a second soon after as his header from David Bentley’s free kick hit the post.
Blackburn responded quite well and could have been level when Brett Emerton looped the ball over the advancing Gomes, only for a desperate headed clearance from Jonathan Woodgate. Minutes later, Benni McCarthy contrived to put a good chance over the bar from six yards out after getting on the end of a Martin Olsson cross.
Spurs continued to look lively, none more so than Lennon who went on several darting runs through the Blackburn half, one of which resulted in a left footed strike which just went past the post. He caused Blackburn more damage when again he sprinted away from Martin Olsson, only to be cynically brought down by Olsson who received his second yellow card and was forced to take an early bath. From the resulting free kick, the ball came to Lennon on the outside of area who’s powerful strike was blocked on the line.
Just before the half time interval came a moment of controversy as Bentley went down on the edge of the box. Tottenham fans and players alike all anticipated an attacking free kick only for referee Howard Webb to give a free kick the other way and show Bentley a yellow card for diving. He may have gone down a touch theatrically but to say he was diving was harsh and the challenge definitely merited a free kick. Nevertheless, Spurs were good value for their half time lead.
Blackburn looked dangerous in the opening exchanges after the break but Spurs continued to create chances, with Tom Huddlestone having a vicious drive deflected over the bar and then another, even better shot from the resulting corner, which curled a touch wide of the post. Spurs continued to press, yet couldn’t find the elusive second goal as Jermaine Jenas and Bentley played an intricate short corner which dropped invitingly for Woodgate, who couldn’t get a clean strike on it.
Tottenham were dominating possession and Blackburn introduced Matt Derbyshire to give a more attacking edge. Spurs brought on Frazier Campbell, who has impressed in recent weeks, for Pavlyuchenko as they looked to close out the game with another goal that their pressure and performance had deserved. The anxiety was growing all around the ground, however, as Blackburn slowly began to get more of the ball, although they hadn’t really threatened Gomes’ goal.
With ten minutes remaining Campbell broke down the left, evading a few tackles and fired the ball across the face of goal only to see Darren Bent’s outstretched foot just fail to make contact. Minutes later, Lennon darted into the box, made room and had a powerful shot saved by Robinson. Then, the best chance of the second half fell to Campbell. Bentley and Lennon worked a short corner, Bentley whipped in an excellent cross and found Campbell in a bit of space, who header was off target.
Spurs replaced Bentley soon after with Jamie O’Hara, a move surely to shore up the midfield and protect the lead. An ugly fracas broke out in the closing minutes between Jenas and Keith Andrews when the Spurs man lashed out after being fouled and then held onto by his opponent. Although the players swarmed the scene, referee Webb had the situation in control and showed yellow cards to both players.
The final whistle came as a massive relief to Tottenham, although in truth Blackburn hardly threatened during the whole game. The man of the match performance from Aaron Lennon will be the most pleasing aspect to Spurs fans, as the winger tormented the Blackburn defence for pretty much the whole game, looking like the player he was when he first burst onto the scene three years ago. The win takes Spurs to the lofty heights of 14th place and with the close proximity of all teams from around 7th place downwards, Tottenham will be hoping to kick on from here and not fall back into the worrying depths of the bottom three.
(fansonline.net/tottenhamhotspur, 2008)
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