Blackburn 1, Spurs 1

Spurs managed to claim a point at Ewood Park on Sunday by gaining a 1-1 draw with the Rovers on a cold, blustery English afteroon. Turkish international Tugay belted a terrific volley from just over 25 yards out, on a poor clearance, which left goalie Paul Robinson no chance to react to give the home side the first goal in the 23rd minute. Spurs had several chances to equalize in the first half, notably from Jermain Defoe and Ahmed Mido, but, as has so often been the case on the road, both players failed to capitlize on the opportunities given them.

In the second half, Tugay wound up making the critical mistake that allowed Spurs to pull level in the 62nd minute by bringing down Hossam Ghaly, and drawing a straight red, in the penalty area, leading to the penalty kick that was successfully taken by Jermain Defoe, squeaking by Brad Friedel who had guessed correctly the intent of Defoe but still let it slip by.



"Tetchy" was a word used by the commentators to describe the action on the pitch, with Mido finding himself in discussions with the referee for his behaviour. The Blackburn fans were giving him a lot of verbal stick as well, cleary heard on the TV. Must be the FAILED NEGOTIATIONS with the Lancashire club that were the cause of such displeasure.


Afterward, the decision to award the red to Tugay irked Rovers manager Mark Hughes, and Tugay's teammate Micheal Gray NO END. Toward the end of the match, Ghaly himself was sent off for leading into a tackle with his elbow, setting off a couple of minutes of confrontation between the sides. Spurs manager Martin Jol himself was sent off the touchline for his confrontation with referee Phil Dowd just after Ghaly was off the pitch. The Blackburn fans were quite keen to voice their opinions on the refereeing after that.


Kudos also to Spurs goalie Robinson for making a quick instinctive save on a sharp kick by Benni McCarthy that might've put the home team up once again late in the second half.


All in all, a lively match on a Sunday morning here. Can't say that Blackburn didn't deserve all three points, but at full-time, the one point was certainly deserved by Spurs.




WHAT A DAY FOR TUGAY



BBC REPORT