10 Man Tottenham Keep Up Title Challenge #2Tottenham Hotspur 2 (Lennon 57, Bale 81) Newcastle United 0

Ten-man Tottenham moved into the top four of the Premier League with victory over Newcastle in a feisty affair.

Aaron Lennon broke the deadlock in the second-half, cutting in from the right to drill an angled shot from just inside the area past keeper Tim Krul.

Spurs had Younes Kaboul sent off on 65 minutes for appearing to thrust his head at Newcastle's Cheik Tiote.

But Gareth Bale made sure of the points for the home side, surging down the left and firing in a rasping effort.

The scoreline was definitely a deserved one on the balance of play, although the Magpies did well to frustrate their usually free-flowing opponents for much of the match.

Aware of the home side's potency on the wings, Newcastle boss Alan Pardew packed the midfield and was forced to bring in full-back James Perch for the more assured Jose Enrique at left-back.

It was an ideal scenario for Tottenham right-winger Lennon. But, apart from the cross for Roman Pavlyuchenko's first-half header, brilliantly saved by Krul, and the goal, Lennon was given little space by former Nottingham Forest defender Perch.

In fact, the visitors' defence performed admirably with much of what Spurs threw at them in the opening 45 minutes. A marked difference to the opening five minutes against Manchester City.

Most of it was last ditch, however.

Tottenham manager Harry Redknapp's side are a credit to the Premier League for staying true to their unofficial motto of "attack, attack, attack" and left-sided dynamo Bale has often led by example this season.

Midway through the first half he cut in from the left, eluded two Newcastle challenges and swept into the area before his attempt to shoot from little more than six yards was blocked by the biting Alan Smith.

Dutchman Rafael Van der Vaart, arguably this season's best signing so far, then tested Krul with a 25-yard free-kick which his compatriot had to tip over.

Van der Vaart then tried to create some room for himself inside the area but saw his shot blocked by Fabricio Coloccini.

And the closest the north Londoners came to scoring before the goal was right on the stroke of half-time when Krul produced an extraordinary save to deny Pavlyuchenko.

Perch had the right to claim he had Lennon "in his pocket" in the opening half, but he was all at sea for the opener when the England winger bore down on goal, after coming in from the right, before drilling a shot that deflected off the left-back and past Krul.

Tottenham were now looking to open up a Newcastle side who did well to keep the potent Londoners at bay.

But the home side suffered a setback in their quest when Kaboul was shown a straight red when he appeared to thrust his head at Tiote, who had forcefully, but cleanly, tackled him seconds earlier.

Instead of packing the defence and seeing out the match, Redknapp brought on forward Peter Crouch.

It was a bold move, although it was the slightly more defensive-minded Bale, who settled the match in typical fashion.

Wales international Bale was sent on his way down the left by Luka Modric before charging inside and rocketing an unstoppable shot with unerring accuracy past the reach of Krul.

That was essentially game, set and match.

The victory meant that Redknapp's side stepped up their Premier League challenge in what is one of the most open title races in recent years.

It was also the first time since the opening day of the season that Spurs kept a clean sheet - more of those and, come May, the men from White Hart Lane could be toasting an event that has not occurred since 1961.

LINE UPS

TOTTENHAM HOTSPUR: 01-Gomes, 02-Hutton, 03-Bale, 04-Kaboul, 07-Lennon, 09-Pavlyuchenko, 11-Van der Vaart, 12-Palacios, 14-Modric, 20 Dawson, 32-Assou-Ekotto SUBS USED: 08-Jenas, 15-Crouch, 19-Bassong

NEWCASTLE UNITED: 26-Krul, 02-Coloccini, 07-Barton, 09-Carroll, 10-Routledge, 12-Simpson, 14-Perch, 17-Smith, 18-Gutierrez, 24-Tiote, 27-Taylor SUBS USED: 11-Lovenkrands, 30-Ranger

Todays Other Scores

Birmingham City 1-1 Manchester United: BC-Bowyer; MU-Berbatov

Manchester City 4-0 Aston Villa: MC-Balotelli (3), Lescott

Stoke City 0-2 Fulham: FU-Baird (2)

Sunderland 0-2 Blackpool: BP-Campbell (2)

West Brom 1-3 Blackburn Rovers: WB-Tamas; BR-Kalinic (2), M.Diouf

West Ham 1-1 Everton: WH-Hibbert (o.g); EV-Coleman

10 Man Tottenham Keep Up Title Challenge Aston Villa 1 (Albrighton 82) Tottenham Hotspur 2 (Van Der Vaart 23,67)

Tottenham's talismanic midfielder Rafael van der Vaart ensured manager Harry Redknapp maintained his hoodoo over Aston Villa after securing a 2-1 win.  Despite a 27th-minute straight red card for Jermain Defoe, the Dutch midfielder scored either side of that to take his tally to double figures for the season, with Spurs unbeaten in each of the eight games in which he has scored.

Although Marc Albrighton pulled one back eight minutes from time, it was not enough to spare the home side, with Redknapp unbeaten in his last ten Barclays Premier League games as a manager against Villa.

From the opening minute the suggestion was this was going to be an entertaining affair, as has often been the case between these two teams of late, and so it proved. After just 50 seconds Heurelho Gomes produced the first of a number of fine saves to deny Villa, initially from Albrighton who was then quick to pounce on the rebound, only for Gareth Bale to bravely block.

After Gabriel Agbonlahor nodded a free header wide a minute later there was perhaps the sense it was not going to be Villa's night. That view was strengthened when Villa appealed for a penalty in the ninth minute when Emile Heskey was felled by Gomes, but it was such a tight call it was no wonder referee Martin Atkinson was unmoved.

It was a challenge which left Heskey needing treatment and ultimately led to his withdrawal six minutes from the break. It was a key departure as Heskey had also played his part in two incisive Villa moves that sandwiched another moment of controversy in the 18th minute.

A minute earlier Heskey and Agbonlahor had spread play from one wing to the other where Stewart Downing strode forward, cut inside and unleashed a low drive that was picked up by Gomes. Three minutes later it was Heskey who played a delightful one-two with Agbonlahor, the latter eventually unleashing a stinging drive that bounced off a diving Gomes' knee. The ball looped up for Agbonlahor to nod goalwards, but again Gomes was on hand to push the ball around the post.

In between a strike from Younes Kaboul was ruled out by an assistant referee as he deemed a pull back from Alan Hutton had crossed the deadball line, although replays suggested otherwise.

In the 23rd minute, however, Tottenham's frustration was forgotten as a sweeping move cut Villa apart, sparked by a raking cross-field ball from Bale into the path of Hutton down the right wing. James Collins, serving as Villa's fifth skipper of the season with Ashley Young out with a knee injury, failed to cut out the right-back's low centre and Van der Vaart was in behind the centre-back to stab home from ten yards.

The visitors' joy was shortlived because just four minutes later they were contentiously down to ten men for an elbow from Defoe in the face of Collins. It appeared to be harsh because although Defoe led with his arm in jumping for a high delivery, his eyes were focused on the ball at all times. 

It left Spurs facing the final 63 minutes a man short, and for the first 18 of those through to half-time they were rarely troubled. And they could have doubled their lead prior to the interval as Van der Vaart teed up Wilson Palacios for a 20-yard effort which Brad Friedel tipped into the sidenetting.

Apart from an early second-half strike from Heskey's replacement Nathan Delfouneso, which stung the fingers of Gomes, Spurs easily held until breaking with devastating effect in the 67th minute. It was sparked by an 80-yard run down the right from Bale, who found Aaron Lennon in space on the left.The winger played a simple pass into Van der Vaart's path for a first-time left-foot shot beyond Friedel.

After Gomes had produced his save of the game from Agbonlahor nine minutes later, an 82nd-minute cross from Albrighton floated past the Spurs goalkeeper, who was arguably distracted by a diving Collins in front of him. There was no late reprieve for Villa and manager Gerard Houllier, though, who departed the field to a chorus of boos from the home fans.

Line Ups:

Aston Villa: 01-Friedel, 03-Warnock, 06-Downing, 12-Albrighton, 11-Agbonlahor, 16-Delph, 18_Heskey, 24-Cuellar, 28-Hogg, 29-Collins, 30-Lichaj SUBS USED: 08-Pires, 14-Delfouneso, 19-Petrov

Tottenham Hotspur: 01-Gomes, 02-Hutton, 03-Bale, 04-Kaboul, 07-Lennon, 11-Van der Vaart, 12-Palacios, 14-Modric, 18-Defoe, 20-Dawson, 32:Assou-Ekotto SUBS USED: 15-Crouch, 22-Corluka

Todays Other Scores:

Blackburn Rovers 0-2 Stoke City: SC-Huth, Wilson

Bolton Wanderers 2-0 West Brom: BW-Taylor, Elmander

Fulham 1-3 West Ham: FU-Hughes WH-Cole (2), Piquionne

Manchester United 2-0 Sunderland: MU-Berbatov (2)

Newcastle United 1-3 Manchester City: NU-Carroll MC- Tevez (2), Barry

Wolves 1-2 Wigan Athletic: WW-Fletcher WA-Rodallega, Cleverley

Calamity Keeper Saves Spurs TitleTottenham Hotspur 1 (Pavlyuchenko 15) Chelsea 1 (Drogba 70)

Chelsea manager Carlo Ancelotti was left to rue a late penalty miss from Didier Drogba as Tottenham goalkeeper Heurelho Gomes went from villain to hero in a dramatic 1-1 draw at White Hart Lane on Sunday.
Ancelotti's spluttering side were heading for a fifth defeat in nine games after Roman Pavlyuchenko's first-half strike put Spurs in front. But Gomes gifted Chelsea an equaliser with 20 minutes left when he allowed Drogba's shot to escape his grasp and loop into the net.
Drogba had a golden opportunity to steal the points for Chelsea when Gomes conceded a stoppage time penalty, but the striker saw his spot-kick brilliantly saved by the Brazilian.
Chelsea were well below their best once again and Ancelotti, under increasing pressure in recent weeks, will be cursing Drogba's miss, which leaves the Blues one point behind Arsenal ahead of the leaders' trip to Manchester United tomorrow.
Although Drogba has struggled to recapture the form that made him the Premier League's top scorer last season, he remains Chelsea's most potent attacking option and his side were toothless without him in the first half.

If Drogba's absence played a part in Chelsea's slow start, they were hindered even more by a continued lack of security at the back. Once the cornerstone of Chelsea's success, Ancelotti's defence now gifts chances with alarming regularity and Pavlyuchenko took full advantage to open the scoring in the 15th minute.
When Jermain Defoe cut infield and found Pavlyuchenko in the penalty area, Chelsea captain John Terry should have closed down the Russian striker. Instead he and John Obi Mikel sat back and allowed Pavlyuchenko to drill a low shot past Cech at his near-post. Replays showed Defoe may have been just offside before crossing, but that was no excuse for Chelsea's poor defending.
Over 25 minutes passed before Gomes was seriously tested when Salomon Kalou's header from Nicolas Anelka's cross forced the Brazilian into action. Another Chelsea defensive lapse should have been punished with a second goal for Pavlyuchenko, but he couldn't keep his shot on target after running unmarked onto Gareth Bale's free-kick.
Only Florent Malouda was providing a sustained threat for Chelsea and he set up two chances for Kalou, who glanced his first header wide and then skied the next headed effort well over. Chelsea had plenty of possession as the half wore on but there was no cutting edge and it was no surprise when Ancelotti sent on Drogba for Mikel at the interval.
Drogba's arrival almost paid immediate dividends as his long-range shot was pushed away for a corner by Gomes, who had to make another acrobatic stop moments later to prevent Wilson Palacios heading a Drogba cross into his own net.
With Drogba up front, Chelsea at last had some focus to their attacks. They lacked composure at times, but that didn't matter as Gomes gifted Chelsea their equaliser in the 70th minute.
Drogba showed tremendous strength and skill to control a hopeful punt and flick it past Michael Dawson. However, his shot was straight at Gomes and should have been saved. Instead the Brazilian's weak attempted stop only managed to push the ball into his net to the delight of Ancelotti and his players.
Ancelotti sent on Frank Lampard for his first appearance in over three months with 12 minutes remaining and Chelsea pressed forward for a winner. It should have arrived in stoppage time when Gomes conceded a penalty by barging into Ramires, but the goalkeeper redeemed himself as he dived to keep out Drogba's spot-kick keeping the score at 1-1 and also means Tottenham remain as the "UNOFFICIAL PREMIER LEAGUE" CHAMPIONS


Next Title Match - 19/12/10 (a) v Blackpool


Line Ups


Tottenham Hotspur: 01-Gomes, 02-Hutton, 03-Bale, 07-Lennon, 09-Pavlyuchenko, 12-Palacios, 14-Modric, 18-Defoe, 19-Bassong, 20-Dawson, 32-Assou-Ekotto Subs Used: 10-Keane, 15-Crouch, 30-Sandro


Chelsea: 01-Cech, 02-Ivanovic, 03-Cole, 05-Essien, 07-Ramires, 12-Obi Mikel, 15-Malouda, 19-Ferreira, 21-Kalou, 26-Terry, 39-Anelka Subs Used: 08-Lampard, 11-Drogba, 23-Sturridge


Todays Other Scores:


Bolton Wanderers 2-1 Blackburn Rovers: BW-Muamba, Holden BR-M.Diouf
Wolverhampton Wanderers 1-0 Birmingham City: WW-Hunt

Spurs In Champions League Action

Spurs clinched top spot in UEFA Champions League Group A after a thrilling 3-3 draw with FC Twente.

Peter Wisgerhof put through his own goal after 12 minutes, but Denny Landzaat brought Twente back into the match from the penalty spot. Jermain Defoe restored his side's advantage two minutes into the second half, but Roberto Rosales levelled. Defoe struck again just before the hour mark, but Twente equalised for a third time through a fine free-kick from Nacer Chadli.

The home side threatened first, Heurelho Gomes having to fully extend himself to palm a long-range Wout Brama shot round the post minutes into the match. Yet it was the London outfit who broke the deadlock in cruel fashion. Wisgerhof played an innocuous back pass to goalkeeper Sander Boschker, but the ball bounced over the foot of the 40-year-old and rolled into the net.

However, it didn't take long for the Dutch champions to restore parity. Benoît Assou-Ekotto blocked a Rosales drive with his arm, and Landzaat stroked the penalty home at the second time of asking; his first effort being disallowed because of player encroachment. Marc Janko had a good opportunity to reward his team's subsequent superiority with a goal just before the break, but his left-footed shot on the turn went well wide.

They were made to pay for the missed chances when Harry Redknapp's men struck immediately after the restart. Aaron Lennon, a first-half substitute for the injured Jermaine Jenas, split the home defence with a reverse pass that Defoe confidently dispatched from inside the box. Once again Twente drew level. Theo Janssen put in a delightful cross from the left and Rosales rose to power a header beyond Gomes.

This time it took a mere three minutes for Spurs to forge ahead again. Janssen's slip let in Wilson Palacios, and although Boschker got down to save his low effort, Defoe was on hand to knock in the rebound. Still the joint Dutch league leaders wouldn't lie down; Chadli curled a sublime free-kick into the top corner on 64 minutes to peg back the visitors again with the game's final goal.

With Inter Milan losing 3-0 in Germany to Werder Bremen, the point was enough to see Spurs through as group winners. Before the group stages began all Spurs fans would've been pleased to secure second place so winning the group is an amazing achievement in their debut Champions League campaign

LINE UPS

FC Twente: 01-Boschker, 04-Wisgerhof, 06-Brama, 07-Landzaat, 08-Janssen, 09-de Jong, 15-Rosales, 19-Franco, 21-Janko, 22-Chadli, 33-Tiendalli Subs Used: 27-Vujicevic

Tottenham Hotspur: 01-Gomes, 03-Bale, 08-Jenas, 09-Pavlyuchenko, 12-Palacios, 13-Gallas, 18-Defoe, 19-Bassong, 21-Kranjcar, 22-Corluka, 32-Assou-Ekotto SUBS USED: 07-Lennon, 10-Keane, 15-Crouch

Tottenham Remain Champs Despite Brum DrawBirmingham City 1 (Gardner 81) Tottenham Hotspur 1 (Bassong 19)

In his first Birmingham start since mid-November, Craig Gardner enjoyed a fine return to first team football by  scoring a late equaliser to earn his side a 1-1 draw at home to Tottenham Hotspur.

A first-half goal from Sebastien Bassong put Spurs 1-0 up at the interval and they looked set to put five points between themselves and sixth-placed Bolton, who lost 1-0 at Manchester City, until Gardner's 81st-minute strike. The result means that Tottenham, who have won just once outside London all season, fall three points behind fourth-placed Manchester City in the race for UEFA Champions League qualification, while Birmingham remain 14th.

Spurs, fresh from a last-gasp 2-1 win at home to Liverpool last weekend, began the game in sprightly fashion and twice threatened the Birmingham goal before taking the lead. Peter Crouch was the first player to threaten, chesting down an Aaron Lennon cross before testing Ben Foster with a low shot, before a fine tackle from Roger Johnson denied Crouch's strike partner Jermain Defoe.

The breakthrough came in the 19th minute and Gareth Bale was at its source. The Welsh winger won a free-kick wide on the right and swung the ensuing set-piece into the box, where the close attentions of Crouch forced Foster to palm the ball into the path of Bassong, who smashed home. Crouch then shot off target after Johnson miscued an attempted headed clearance, but Birmingham served notice of their intentions to get back into the game when Gardner fired fractionally wide from distance.

Gardner, back from an ankle injury, then headed straight at Spurs goalkeeper Heurelho Gomes, before Blues boss Alex McCleish gambled by throwing on giant striker Nikola Zigic for winger Keith Fahey. Defoe was next to go close, drilling wide of the near post, but Zigic's introduction enabled Birmingham to establish an attacking foothold in the game and William Gallas had to produce a superb block to repel Cameron Jerome.

Bale served a reminder of Tottenham's threat with a rasping strike that Foster had to parry, with Sebastian Larsson then calling Gomes into action at the other end. Spurs were gradually pinned inside their own half and Jerome blazed off-target from the edge of the box after Johnson had picked him out in space. Gomes spread himself brilliantly to prevent Liam Ridgewell from equalising after a right-wing cross reached him at the back post but the hosts were knocking on the door and with nine minutes to play they levelled. McCleish's decision to send on Zigic bore fruit in timely fashion, as the Serbian international nodded Scott Dann's deep cross back across goal for Gardner to head home the equaliser.

Birmingham City: 26-Foster, 02-Carr, 04-Bowyer, 05-Johnson, 06-Ridgewell, 08-Gardner, 10-Jerome, 12-Ferguson, 15-Dann, 18-Fahey, 23-Beausejour, SUBS USED: 03-Murphy, 07-Larsson, 19-Zigic

Tottenham Hotspur: 01-Gomes, 02-Hutton, 03-Bale, 07-Lennon, 12-Palacios, 13-Gallas, 14-Modric, 15-Crouch, 18-Defoe, 19-Bassong, 32-Assou-Ekotto Subs Not Used: 09-Pavlyuchenko

Todays Other Scores:

Arsenal 2-1 Fulham - Ars-Nasri (2), FUL-Kamara

Blackburn Rovers 3-0 Wolves - BR-Dunn, Emerton, Nelsen

Blackpool P-P Manchester United

Chelsea 1-1 Everton - CH-Drogba (pen), EVE-Beckford

Manchester City 1-0 Bolton Wanderers - MC-Tevez

Wigan Athletic 2-2 Stoke City - WA-Collins (og), Cleverley SC-Huth, Etherington