Tottenham clambered out of the Premier League relegation zone after an early Roman Pavlyuchenko strike sealed a 1-0 win against Blackburn at White Hart Lane. Aaron Lennon was the undoubted man of the match after running Blackburn, and in particular Martin Olsson, ragged all afternoon.
The diminutive winger caught Olsson napping before laying the ball off for Pavlyuchenko’s ninth-minute winner, which Blackburn never looked like cancelling out. Harry Redknapp caused much furore by deploying the strike partnership of Pavlyuchenko and Darren Bent - a combination which former coach Gus Poyet insisted could not function effectively - and the pair repaid his faith in abundance.
Lennon compounded Paul Ince’s side’s woes as he repeatedly skipped past Olsson before the full-back was finally dismissed by referee Howard Webb for two bookable offences. David Bentley also got in on the act from the left, curling a delightful delivery on to the head of the Russian striker, whose attempt struck Paul Robinson’s near post. Read the rest of this entry »