Tottenham 1 Blackburn 2
Juande Ramos' presence failed to have the desired impact as the new Tottenham boss watched Christopher Samba snatch an injury-time winner as Blackburn claimed a 2-1 victory.
Samba curled home a fine strike to secure Rovers' sixth straight victory and only their second triumph at White Hart Lane in a decade.
Ramos, appointed as Martin Jol's successor, will have been wondering how Spurs managed to throw it away as he looked on from the directors' box.
Initially his presence appeared to galvanise his eager to impress players, but once again the north London club were undone by poor defending.
Robbie Keane had fired them ahead with a 49th-minute penalty - his eighth goal of the season - in a fitting reward for his side's ascendancy.
• Allen unsure about Spurs future
But Benni McCarthy struck 10 minutes later to set up a tense climax that was completed when Congo defender Samba fired his remarkable late winner.
Blackburn, unchanged from the team that thumped Reading 4-2, had Brad Friedel to thank for keeping them in the match.
Friedel made a string of fine saves, including a stop of Dimitar Berbatov's goalbound header that threatened to wrestle back the victory for Spurs.
Indeed, the USA keeper had to make a timely interception as early as the opening minute as Keane was played in from midfield.
The early pressure on Rovers' goal continued with Samba blocking a shot by Berbatov and Robbie Savage doing the same when Steed Malbranque pulled the trigger.
But the visitors should have gone ahead in the 10th minute when David Bentley had the time and space to pick his spot with just Radek Cerny to beat, only to his blast his shot wide.
After Spurs' early onslaught had subsided, play became more balanced with Blackburn enjoying the odd foray into the box.
Friedel had to come to the rescue again in the 18th minute, however, when a Tom Huddlestone free-kick was flicked towards goal by Michael Dawson only for the American stopper to intervene.
Sharp reactions from Friedel yet again proved decisive a heartbeat later with Malbranque sending Aaron Lennon charging in on goal only for the Rovers keeper to deflect his effort to safety.
Malbranque and Keane, who replaced Jermain Defoe in the starting line-up, combined well in the 28th minute but Andre Ooijer was alert to the danger.
Spurs had taken a stranglehold on the match once again and were well on top with 15 minutes of the first half remaining.
Samba headed a Huddlestone free-kick clear to safety as the London club continued to probe away at Blackburn's creaking defence.
However, Spurs' efforts to unpick the opposition rearguard became increasingly speculative as the half petered out.
Savage limped off on the stroke of half time with Aaron Mokoena coming on as his replacement.
Malbranque was covering plenty of ground, making several timely tackles in a committed display that will have caught the eye of Ramos.
The Frenchman maybe have been missing the creative spark he was bought to provide, but Keane made up for that by starting and finishing Spurs' 49th-minute equaliser.
The Republic of Ireland marksman found Aaron Lennon with a beautifully-weighted pass that sent the jet-heeled Spurs winger racing in on goal.
Struggling to contain Lennon, Stephen Warnock sent him tumbling and referee Rob Styles immediately pointed to the spot.
Keane bamboozled Friedel to rifle home the penalty and Warnock went into Styles' book for the offending challenge.
Lennon then forced a last-gasp save from Friedel as the home side, buoyed by their strike, went in search of a second.
But disaster struck for Spurs in the 60th minute when McCarthy pounced with the equaliser, collecting Bentley's pass and finding the net via a slight deflection off Dawson.
A Berbatov header was kept out superbly by Friedel and the match was finely poised as it entered the final 20 minutes.
Darren Bent replaced Malbranque in the 77th minute, before words were exchanged in the dug out and on the pitch where a small of group of players squared-up.
Spurs brought on Jermain Defoe with two minutes to go in attempt to rescue, but instead the late drama came at the opposite end.
Brett Emerton caused panic in the Spurs defence with the initial free-kick and when the ball was played to an unmarked Samba the winner seemed inevitable.
The Congo defender curled his effort into the bottom left corner for a magnificent finish that gave Cerny no chance.
• Allen unsure about Spurs future
Tottenham caretaker-manager Clive Allen admitted his reluctance to hand over the coaching reins to Juande Ramos despite today's 2-1 defeat by Blackburn.
Allen's one-match stint as boss, bridging the gap between Martin Jol's exit on Thursday and Ramos's arrival, ended in a dramatic fashion at White Hart Lane.
Congo defender Christopher Samba pounced in injury-time to complete a Rovers comeback started by Benni McCarthy's 60th-minute strike.
Allen admitted his pride at taking charge of the team for the first - and only - time, but hinted that his own future is uncertain in light of Jol's departure.
'We lost over 93 minutes. I'd be happy to still be out there trying to win the game,' said Allen.
'I'm not glad it's over because football is my life and I've enjoyed every second of it. I was born into a footballing family.
'I have a big association with this club and I'm very, very proud to have taken the team today.'
When asked about Jol's departure and his own future, Allen replied: 'Football is a cruel game.
'I will report for work in the morning. I'm passionate about the work I do at the football club and I'd like to go forward with Tottenham.'
Ramos visited the changing room after today's defeat to meet the players for the first time, and Allen admitted he was impressed by the Spaniard.
'I met Ramos after the game with all the players. He spoke briefly to the players. He said that we start tomorrow morning,' he said.
'He comes with a fantastic reputation in terms of the team he built at Sevilla, the success they achieved and style in which they played.'
Robbie Keane opened the scoring with a 49th-minute penalty, won when Stephen Warnock hauled down Aaron Lennon, to reward Spurs' dominance.
But once McCarthy equalised, Spurs - who had looked solid at the back - were struck by the defensive jitters that have plagued their season.
'The lads have been fantastic in the days I've been working with them. I've seen real determination,' said Allen.
'They know they haven't reached their capability and the results have reflected that. The performance deserved more than the result we got.
'They needed to produce a performance and I felt they did.'
Blackburn boss Mark Hughes admitted the outcome was harsh on the hosts but felt it was typical of his side's resilience.
'The result was tough for Spurs. We didn't play as well has we have done over the last couple of weeks,' he said.
'We've been excellent in a footballing sense but we never really got going in the first half today.
'We struggled to get a foothold in the game. We got away with it and although I wasn't too happy at half-time, at 0-0 we felt we could get something.
'After conceding the penalty we knew it was going to be a difficult day for us.
'But I sensed there is a determination in the players in the second half and they did really well getting back into the game.'
Victory did not come without cost, however, as Hughes revealed midfielder Robbie Savage may need minor surgery on a knee injury and could be out for two weeks.
'Robbie has tweaked his cartilage. He'll have a scan on Monday and may need a small operation to tidy it up,' he said.
Samba curled home a fine strike to secure Rovers' sixth straight victory and only their second triumph at White Hart Lane in a decade.
Ramos, appointed as Martin Jol's successor, will have been wondering how Spurs managed to throw it away as he looked on from the directors' box.
Initially his presence appeared to galvanise his eager to impress players, but once again the north London club were undone by poor defending.
Robbie Keane had fired them ahead with a 49th-minute penalty - his eighth goal of the season - in a fitting reward for his side's ascendancy.
• Allen unsure about Spurs future
But Benni McCarthy struck 10 minutes later to set up a tense climax that was completed when Congo defender Samba fired his remarkable late winner.
Blackburn, unchanged from the team that thumped Reading 4-2, had Brad Friedel to thank for keeping them in the match.
Friedel made a string of fine saves, including a stop of Dimitar Berbatov's goalbound header that threatened to wrestle back the victory for Spurs.
Indeed, the USA keeper had to make a timely interception as early as the opening minute as Keane was played in from midfield.
The early pressure on Rovers' goal continued with Samba blocking a shot by Berbatov and Robbie Savage doing the same when Steed Malbranque pulled the trigger.
But the visitors should have gone ahead in the 10th minute when David Bentley had the time and space to pick his spot with just Radek Cerny to beat, only to his blast his shot wide.
After Spurs' early onslaught had subsided, play became more balanced with Blackburn enjoying the odd foray into the box.
Friedel had to come to the rescue again in the 18th minute, however, when a Tom Huddlestone free-kick was flicked towards goal by Michael Dawson only for the American stopper to intervene.
Sharp reactions from Friedel yet again proved decisive a heartbeat later with Malbranque sending Aaron Lennon charging in on goal only for the Rovers keeper to deflect his effort to safety.
Malbranque and Keane, who replaced Jermain Defoe in the starting line-up, combined well in the 28th minute but Andre Ooijer was alert to the danger.
Spurs had taken a stranglehold on the match once again and were well on top with 15 minutes of the first half remaining.
Samba headed a Huddlestone free-kick clear to safety as the London club continued to probe away at Blackburn's creaking defence.
However, Spurs' efforts to unpick the opposition rearguard became increasingly speculative as the half petered out.
Savage limped off on the stroke of half time with Aaron Mokoena coming on as his replacement.
Malbranque was covering plenty of ground, making several timely tackles in a committed display that will have caught the eye of Ramos.
The Frenchman maybe have been missing the creative spark he was bought to provide, but Keane made up for that by starting and finishing Spurs' 49th-minute equaliser.
The Republic of Ireland marksman found Aaron Lennon with a beautifully-weighted pass that sent the jet-heeled Spurs winger racing in on goal.
Struggling to contain Lennon, Stephen Warnock sent him tumbling and referee Rob Styles immediately pointed to the spot.
Keane bamboozled Friedel to rifle home the penalty and Warnock went into Styles' book for the offending challenge.
Lennon then forced a last-gasp save from Friedel as the home side, buoyed by their strike, went in search of a second.
But disaster struck for Spurs in the 60th minute when McCarthy pounced with the equaliser, collecting Bentley's pass and finding the net via a slight deflection off Dawson.
A Berbatov header was kept out superbly by Friedel and the match was finely poised as it entered the final 20 minutes.
Darren Bent replaced Malbranque in the 77th minute, before words were exchanged in the dug out and on the pitch where a small of group of players squared-up.
Spurs brought on Jermain Defoe with two minutes to go in attempt to rescue, but instead the late drama came at the opposite end.
Brett Emerton caused panic in the Spurs defence with the initial free-kick and when the ball was played to an unmarked Samba the winner seemed inevitable.
The Congo defender curled his effort into the bottom left corner for a magnificent finish that gave Cerny no chance.
• Allen unsure about Spurs future
Tottenham caretaker-manager Clive Allen admitted his reluctance to hand over the coaching reins to Juande Ramos despite today's 2-1 defeat by Blackburn.
Allen's one-match stint as boss, bridging the gap between Martin Jol's exit on Thursday and Ramos's arrival, ended in a dramatic fashion at White Hart Lane.
Congo defender Christopher Samba pounced in injury-time to complete a Rovers comeback started by Benni McCarthy's 60th-minute strike.
Allen admitted his pride at taking charge of the team for the first - and only - time, but hinted that his own future is uncertain in light of Jol's departure.
'We lost over 93 minutes. I'd be happy to still be out there trying to win the game,' said Allen.
'I'm not glad it's over because football is my life and I've enjoyed every second of it. I was born into a footballing family.
'I have a big association with this club and I'm very, very proud to have taken the team today.'
When asked about Jol's departure and his own future, Allen replied: 'Football is a cruel game.
'I will report for work in the morning. I'm passionate about the work I do at the football club and I'd like to go forward with Tottenham.'
Ramos visited the changing room after today's defeat to meet the players for the first time, and Allen admitted he was impressed by the Spaniard.
'I met Ramos after the game with all the players. He spoke briefly to the players. He said that we start tomorrow morning,' he said.
'He comes with a fantastic reputation in terms of the team he built at Sevilla, the success they achieved and style in which they played.'
Robbie Keane opened the scoring with a 49th-minute penalty, won when Stephen Warnock hauled down Aaron Lennon, to reward Spurs' dominance.
But once McCarthy equalised, Spurs - who had looked solid at the back - were struck by the defensive jitters that have plagued their season.
'The lads have been fantastic in the days I've been working with them. I've seen real determination,' said Allen.
'They know they haven't reached their capability and the results have reflected that. The performance deserved more than the result we got.
'They needed to produce a performance and I felt they did.'
Blackburn boss Mark Hughes admitted the outcome was harsh on the hosts but felt it was typical of his side's resilience.
'The result was tough for Spurs. We didn't play as well has we have done over the last couple of weeks,' he said.
'We've been excellent in a footballing sense but we never really got going in the first half today.
'We struggled to get a foothold in the game. We got away with it and although I wasn't too happy at half-time, at 0-0 we felt we could get something.
'After conceding the penalty we knew it was going to be a difficult day for us.
'But I sensed there is a determination in the players in the second half and they did really well getting back into the game.'
Victory did not come without cost, however, as Hughes revealed midfielder Robbie Savage may need minor surgery on a knee injury and could be out for two weeks.
'Robbie has tweaked his cartilage. He'll have a scan on Monday and may need a small operation to tidy it up,' he said.
posted by dgarden at 1:55 pm
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