Tottenham 1 Middlesbrough 1
Middlesbrough edged closer towards a mid-table finish after two fortuitous goals at White Hart Lane meant they shared a 1-1 draw with Tottenham.
An impish piece of skill from Dimitar Berbatov set up the opener, with Jon Grounds putting through his own net, before Stewart Downing had an effort deflected in to level matters in the second half.
With Barclays Premier League survival virtually assured, Gareth Southgate's men can take heart from their recent narrow defeat to Chelsea and last weekend's draw against Manchester United.
Fabio Capello was in the stands to monitor the likes of Jonathan Woodgate, who was his usual calm self as he faced Brazilian striker Afonso Alves.
Down the flanks, Capello kept an eye on the raw pace of Aaron Lennon up against Downing, while Jermaine Jenas made the yards down the middle.
Then there were the young defenders in Michael Dawson and David Wheater - plenty to play for among the Englishmen despite the game looking meaningless on paper.
Robbie Keane, making his 250th appearance for Spurs, wrote in his programme notes about the importance of every match despite securing European football already by winning the Carling Cup.
And without the intensity of a relegation clash, at least there was open football on offer.
Boro thought they had taken the lead with just 73 seconds on the clock.
Pascal Chimbonda's slip allowed Gary O'Neil down the right and Alves tapped in after Jeremie Aliadiere met the cross first time and Radek Cerny parried - but the strike was ruled out for offside.
Jenas fired over from the edge of the area and it was Lennon's perseverance that set up Spurs' first real chance when he robbed George Boateng in midfield.
The ball was spread to Keane and the cross was met by Berbatov but Mark Schwarzer did not have to move to make the save.
Jenas then went on a driving run, aided by a back-heel from Keane, and went beyond the Boro defence. His progress was only stopped when Schwarzer rushed out to smother the shot.
The opener came in the 26th minute and Berbatov took the plaudits despite Grounds getting the last touch. He flicked the ball over the Boro defence for Jenas to break the offside trap as Keane ran backwards from an offside position.
Jenas lost momentum but fed Berbatov on the right flank. The Bulgaria striker flicked the ball up and volleyed over a cross that Lennon met first time, with the ball going in off Grounds' knee.
Boro, who had Emanuel Pogatetz booked for a foul soon after the opener, looked for a way back into the game.
They were almost gifted a chance when Cerny came out to claim and dropped the ball on the edge of the area to prevent handball, but he managed to scramble clear.
In the second half, Wheater met a corner with a firm header and it required Lennon, the smallest player on the pitch, to head off the line as he guarded the post.
Alves also played Aliadiere down the right channel and Dawson was over to block the Frenchman's shot.
Spurs could have extended their lead on the hour mark when Berbatov's finish, after Keane had flicked on Alan Hutton's cross, came off the post.
The response of Boro boss Southgate was to take Grounds off for Adam Johnson. Fabio Rochemback also came on, for Julio Arca.
Alves got another sight of goal soon after and it took another brave block from Dawson to deny him.
But Boro were level with 21 minutes remaining through Downing's fortunate strike. Choosing to shoot with his weaker right foot, the winger's shot from 25 yards taking a deflection off Berbatov's head and going in.
Alves raced through and could have sealed it, but his finish went wide, then Gilberto had to block off the line when Tuncay Sanli shot.
Middlesbrough boss Gareth Southgate was delighted with the response from his players after giving them a half-time dressing down for their 'unacceptable' first 45 minutes at White Hart Lane.
'We were too 'end of season' in the first half,' said Southgate. 'The goal we conceded epitomised that. Not acceptable. In the second half we responded brilliantly and were more positive and we asked Tottenham questions.'
'I'm pleased we have shown we are not dead in games and we can create enough, even away from home, to win matches,' he added.
'But I'm not pleased with the first half because it was not acceptable for the supporters who travelled. I'm glad we got ourselves out of jail in the second half.
'We couldn't have been a lot worse. I felt it was important. We had a few pats on the back recently with the way we've played but the first half was not us, not the players I know, and it didn't represent the talent we have in the dressing room or the professionalism we have got.
'Hopefully it is a lesson learned because we are a young group and if they thought they could come here and just play a nice game of football and win, we've learned the lesson very quickly that you cannot do that in this league.'
In the end, Afonso Alves or substitute Tuncay Sanli could have snatched victory for the visitors.
'Possibly we created enough to win it but you do not deserve to win it if you play like we did in the first half,' Southgate added.
Spurs head coach Juande Ramos admitted his side are struggling to motivate themselves now European qualification has been secured and there is no danger of falling from mid-table.
'Possibly the lack of importance of the points at the moment meant the players dropped their guard a little,' he said. 'The game is 90 minutes and we have to look at the game as a whole.'
However, Ramos' focus will not be on which players he wants to retain.
'All the players have had their opportunities, they have all been used at some point when I've made substitutions and they've all had their chances,' he said.
'We always want to produce the best performance possible but you have to understand the situation the team is in.
'We are in the middle of the table, the points aren't excessively important - we can't reach the top part of the table and we don't seem to be in danger.
'It is not easy to get the maximum motivation when the team is in this situation.'
An impish piece of skill from Dimitar Berbatov set up the opener, with Jon Grounds putting through his own net, before Stewart Downing had an effort deflected in to level matters in the second half.
With Barclays Premier League survival virtually assured, Gareth Southgate's men can take heart from their recent narrow defeat to Chelsea and last weekend's draw against Manchester United.
Fabio Capello was in the stands to monitor the likes of Jonathan Woodgate, who was his usual calm self as he faced Brazilian striker Afonso Alves.
Down the flanks, Capello kept an eye on the raw pace of Aaron Lennon up against Downing, while Jermaine Jenas made the yards down the middle.
Then there were the young defenders in Michael Dawson and David Wheater - plenty to play for among the Englishmen despite the game looking meaningless on paper.
Robbie Keane, making his 250th appearance for Spurs, wrote in his programme notes about the importance of every match despite securing European football already by winning the Carling Cup.
And without the intensity of a relegation clash, at least there was open football on offer.
Boro thought they had taken the lead with just 73 seconds on the clock.
Pascal Chimbonda's slip allowed Gary O'Neil down the right and Alves tapped in after Jeremie Aliadiere met the cross first time and Radek Cerny parried - but the strike was ruled out for offside.
Jenas fired over from the edge of the area and it was Lennon's perseverance that set up Spurs' first real chance when he robbed George Boateng in midfield.
The ball was spread to Keane and the cross was met by Berbatov but Mark Schwarzer did not have to move to make the save.
Jenas then went on a driving run, aided by a back-heel from Keane, and went beyond the Boro defence. His progress was only stopped when Schwarzer rushed out to smother the shot.
The opener came in the 26th minute and Berbatov took the plaudits despite Grounds getting the last touch. He flicked the ball over the Boro defence for Jenas to break the offside trap as Keane ran backwards from an offside position.
Jenas lost momentum but fed Berbatov on the right flank. The Bulgaria striker flicked the ball up and volleyed over a cross that Lennon met first time, with the ball going in off Grounds' knee.
Boro, who had Emanuel Pogatetz booked for a foul soon after the opener, looked for a way back into the game.
They were almost gifted a chance when Cerny came out to claim and dropped the ball on the edge of the area to prevent handball, but he managed to scramble clear.
In the second half, Wheater met a corner with a firm header and it required Lennon, the smallest player on the pitch, to head off the line as he guarded the post.
Alves also played Aliadiere down the right channel and Dawson was over to block the Frenchman's shot.
Spurs could have extended their lead on the hour mark when Berbatov's finish, after Keane had flicked on Alan Hutton's cross, came off the post.
The response of Boro boss Southgate was to take Grounds off for Adam Johnson. Fabio Rochemback also came on, for Julio Arca.
Alves got another sight of goal soon after and it took another brave block from Dawson to deny him.
But Boro were level with 21 minutes remaining through Downing's fortunate strike. Choosing to shoot with his weaker right foot, the winger's shot from 25 yards taking a deflection off Berbatov's head and going in.
Alves raced through and could have sealed it, but his finish went wide, then Gilberto had to block off the line when Tuncay Sanli shot.
Middlesbrough boss Gareth Southgate was delighted with the response from his players after giving them a half-time dressing down for their 'unacceptable' first 45 minutes at White Hart Lane.
'We were too 'end of season' in the first half,' said Southgate. 'The goal we conceded epitomised that. Not acceptable. In the second half we responded brilliantly and were more positive and we asked Tottenham questions.'
'I'm pleased we have shown we are not dead in games and we can create enough, even away from home, to win matches,' he added.
'But I'm not pleased with the first half because it was not acceptable for the supporters who travelled. I'm glad we got ourselves out of jail in the second half.
'We couldn't have been a lot worse. I felt it was important. We had a few pats on the back recently with the way we've played but the first half was not us, not the players I know, and it didn't represent the talent we have in the dressing room or the professionalism we have got.
'Hopefully it is a lesson learned because we are a young group and if they thought they could come here and just play a nice game of football and win, we've learned the lesson very quickly that you cannot do that in this league.'
In the end, Afonso Alves or substitute Tuncay Sanli could have snatched victory for the visitors.
'Possibly we created enough to win it but you do not deserve to win it if you play like we did in the first half,' Southgate added.
Spurs head coach Juande Ramos admitted his side are struggling to motivate themselves now European qualification has been secured and there is no danger of falling from mid-table.
'Possibly the lack of importance of the points at the moment meant the players dropped their guard a little,' he said. 'The game is 90 minutes and we have to look at the game as a whole.'
However, Ramos' focus will not be on which players he wants to retain.
'All the players have had their opportunities, they have all been used at some point when I've made substitutions and they've all had their chances,' he said.
'We always want to produce the best performance possible but you have to understand the situation the team is in.
'We are in the middle of the table, the points aren't excessively important - we can't reach the top part of the table and we don't seem to be in danger.
'It is not easy to get the maximum motivation when the team is in this situation.'
posted by dgarden at 1:36 pm
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