The consolation for Sam Allardyce is that he did not do Rafael Benítez a favour. Had Allardyce’s Rovers stunted Tottenham’s push for a top-four finish and, indirectly, helped Liverpool and Benítez, it might have stuck in his jowls. Allardyce cannot see eye-to-eye with the Liverpool manager, to put it mildly.
The Blackburn manager, though, endured a frustrating afternoon as his team’s woeful away form continued. They might have started brightly and had a decent shout for a penalty turned down, but, when you concede the sort of goals they did, you get what you deserve.
Tottenham were not at their free-flowing best, despite another marauding performance from the in-form Gareth Bale, but they did enough. Jermain Defoe plundered his 23rd of the season from close-range and Roman Pavlyuchenko, having initially appeared to have mislaid his shooting boots, might have finished with a hat-trick.
He jammed Tottenham’s second under the substitute Rovers goalkeeper Jason Brown, who wanted the ground to swallow him up. Then, after Christopher Samba’s riposte for Rovers, the Russian plundered his eighth goal in six games from Bale’s wonderful first-time cross. But for an acrobatic goalline clearance by Samba, Pavlyuchenko would have scored again.
Howard Webb, who will be England’s representative at the World Cup finals in South Africa, drew unwanted attention. Having ignored David Dunn’s penalty appeal for Rovers in the 19th minute, he did likewise with Bale’s in the second half after Míchel Salgado’s lunge. Webb also ignored a blatant trip by Morten Gamst Pedersen on Bale, on the fringes of the area, while he disallowed a late Rovers consolation from Nikola Kalinic for handball.
Harry Redknapp could simply savour the result. Tottenham have a difficult run-in, with matches against Arsenal, Chelsea and Manchester United to come, and he had to consider this match as a must-win.
His team have slipped up at home to supposed lesser lights this season. Not this time. Blackburn might have felt slightly aggrieved to have been behind at half-time. Their away form this season has held them back, yet, from their position of relative security in mid-table, they carried the fight to Tottenham.
Three times in the early running, Rovers threatened. Dunn was thwarted on the break by Wilson Palacios, who tracked back to tackle; Samba almost met a whipped Gamst Pedersen free-kick and Martin Olsson saw a shot blocked by Sébastien Bassong.
The first half’s major talking point involved the non-award of a Blackburn penalty. Not that many players appeared bothered at the time; perhaps the lack of any appeal was a factor in Webb’s indifference. Dunn had barrelled into the area and, when challenged by Vedran Corluka, went down in a tangle of arms and legs. Corluka was nowhere near the ball.
It was Corluka who played the central role in Tottenham’s breakthrough. From Niko Kranjcar’s corner, he stole, unchallenged, in front of a static Rovers defence to flick towards the far corner. Defoe prodded in at close range past Brown, who had come on for the injured Paul Robinson.
Tottenham, who grew gradually into the contest, might have led earlier had Pavlyuchenko not spurned two presentable chances, while Bale was a potent weapon at left midfield with his pace and adventure.
Salgado, the Rovers right-back at 34 years young, endured a torrid afternoon.
The second half meandered following Pavlyuchenko’s first goal, with Webb’s decisions polarising opinion, until Rovers shocked White Hart Lane by reducing the arrears.
In keeping with the theme of the afternoon, it was a dreadful goal from a defensive point of view, Heurelho Gomes coming for the ball on Gamst Pedersen’s corner, but getting boxed in and allowing Samba to rise, unchallenged, to head home. But Pavlyuchenko ensured the grandstand finish came at the other end.
Premier LeagueTottenham HotspurBlackburn RoversDavid Hytnerguardian.co.uk
