- Defoe (45), Pavlyuchenko (55), Pavlyuchenko (85)
- Samba (80)
- Date:2010-03-13
- Kick-off:12:45
- Venue:White Hart Lane
- Attendance:35474
- Referee:Webb, H
Live Commentary
90mins
Full Time: TOTTENHAM 3-1 BLACKBURN. Spurs do their claims for fourth place no harm with victory against Rovers.
90mins
Nikola Kalinic's volley into the back of the net is ruled out for handball.
88mins
Eidur Gudjohnsen replaces Luka Modric.
88mins
Roman Pavlyuchenko's chipped effort is cleared off the line by Christopher Samba.
85mins
TOTTENHAM 3-1 BLACKBURN. Bale's low cross is slotted home by PAVLYUCHENKO.
83mins
Heurelho Gomes collects the ball from Franco di Santo's flick-on.
81mins
Peter Crouch replaces Jermain Defoe for Spurs.
79mins
TOTTENHAM 2-1 BLACKBURN. SAMBA grabs a goal back with a header from Morten Gamst Pedersen's corner.
78mins
Roman Pavlyuchenko turns well but gives the ball away.
76mins
Wilson Palacios makes a great intervention to halt Nikola Kalinic's progress.
74mins
Gael Givet is replaced by Franco di Santo.
72mins
Martin Olsson's cross is straight into the hands of Heurelho Gomes.
70mins
Pascal Chimbonda mis-controls the ball and it goes out for a throw-in.
68mins
Steven N'Zonzi's header is wide of the upright.
68mins
Spurs see a penalty appeal waved away following a Michel Salgado chellenge on Gareth Bale.
67mins
Nikola Kalinic flicks the ball on but Steven N'Zonzi can't latch onto the ball.
65mins
Spurs are on top in this game.
63mins
Luka Modric drags his shot wide as Spurs go looking for another goal.
61mins
Keith Andrews replaces Brett Emerton.
59mins
Jermain Defoe looks to pass to Gareth Bale but can't find his man.
57mins
David Dunn's free kick is blocked by Michael Dawson.
54mins
TOTTENHAM 2-0 BLACKBURN. PAVLYUCHENKO shoots home from the edge of the area to double Spurs' tally.
54mins
Morten Gamst Pedersen's corner is headed away by Gareth Bale.
53mins
Morten Gamst Pedersen's free kick is headed away by Benoit Assou-Ekotto at the far post for a corner.
50mins
Roman Pavlyuchenko looks to play the ball forward but his pass is too strong.
48mins
Michael Dawson is alert to the situation to take the ball of the foot Nikola Kalinic in the area.
47mins
Jermain Defoe's 30-yard volley is high of the target.
45mins
Referee Howard Webb gets the second half underway.
45mins
Half Time: TOTTENHAM 1-0 BLACKBURN. Spurs go into the break with a deserved lead after enjoying the better of the first 45 minutes.
45mins
TOTTENHAM 1-0 BLACKBURN. DEFOE knocks the ball home at the back post after Vedran Corluka flicks on a corner.
43mins
Gareth Bale volleys away from Morten Gamst Pedersen's long throw.
41mins
Jermain Defoe looks to have picked up a knock after a challenge with Christopher Samba.
39mins
Spurs have looked the more likely team to score in this half.
37mins
Jermain Defoe's first-time shot is saved low-down by Jason Brown.
35mins
Jason Brown gets fingertips to the ball to keep out a deflected cross.
35mins
Gareth Bale finds Jermain Defoe but the striker is forced away from the danger zone.
33mins
Gareth Bale tears down the left again but his cross is headed away by Christopher Samba.
31mins
Jermain Defoe looks incredulous after being ruled offside.
29mins
Gareth Bale cuts inside and bursts into the area but his shot is just wide.
27mins
Roman Pavlyuchenko ties himself up in knots as he looks to let the ball run through his legs.
24mins
Paul Robinson has picked up an injury and is being replaced by Jason Brown.
23mins
Jermain Defoe shows good control but his shot is blocked.
22mins
Spurs are struggling to get into their stride against a well organised Rovers side.
20mins
Roman Pavlyuchenko fires wide from Gareth Bale's excellent cross.
19mins
Vedran Corluka makes a great challenge to dispossess David Dunn.
17mins
Gael Givet beats Jermain Defoe in the air and Blackburn look to attack.
15mins
The ball falls to Roman Pavlyuchenko but his volley is into the ground and wide.
13mins
Paul Robinson hoofs the ball forward but it lands ahead of Christopher Samba.
10mins
Steven N'Zonzi's strike is blocked.
9mins
Paul Robinson has to be alert after Steven N'Zonzi sells his back pass short.
8mins
Roman Pavlyuchenko's right-foot shot from 25 yards flies high and wide of the target.
6mins
Martin Olsson is receiving treatment after picking up a knock.
6mins
Morten Gamst Pedersen's free kick is just over the head of Christopher Samba.
6mins
Gareth Bale fires another ball into the area but the Rovers defence are equal to the challenge again.
4mins
David Dunn bursts forward but his resulting shot is blocked.
2mins
Gareth Bale's cross into the area is cleared by the Rovers defence.
1mins
Referee Howard Webb gets the game underway.
0mins
David Dunn returns for Rovers following a calf problem.
0mins
Roman Pavlyuchenko and Jermain Defoe start upfront for the home side.
Match Preview
Tottenham's pursuit of a top-four finish in the Premier League this season steps up with the visit of Blackburn Rovers on Saturday lunchtime.
With ten games remaining the advantage is with Harry Redknapp's side in the race for Champions League qualification as they are in control their own destiny.
One defeat in their last 12 league games means that confidence is high at White Hart Lane heading into this weekend.
Liverpool's surprise defeat at Wigan on Monday night left the north London club sitting pretty in fourth spot and with one game in hand on their Merseyside rivals.
However, Manchester City and Aston Villa cannot be discounted and Redknapp knows that home games against mid-table sides like Rovers are must-win occasions.
Jermain Defoe missed last weekend's FA Cup sixth-round goalless draw against Fulham with a minor hamstring strain but is expected to return in place of Roman Pavlyuchenko.
Peter Crouch should keep his place and has fond memories of Blackburn after scoring both goals in a 2-0 win at Ewood Park in December.
However, it is in further back where Spurs are stretched as Ledley King (thigh), Jonathan Woodgate (groin), Tom Huddlestone (ankle), David Bentley, Jermain Jenas and Aaron Lennon (all groin) are all still unavailable.
Blackburn boss Sam Allardyce has set his sights on a top-ten finish following an upturn in fortunes for Rovers of late.
Back-to-back victories over Hull and Bolton before a 2-1 defeat to Liverpool on their last outing has seen the Lancashire club soar up to 12th place in the table on the 34-point mark.
They are now just one win away from virtually guaranteeing themselves top-flight football for next season and Allardyce is hoping his players can kick on after being freed from their shackles.
David Dunn, Brett Emerton, Franco Di Santo, Junior Hoilett and Yildiray Basturk all played for the reserves in midweek and Dunn in particular is pushing for a recall following injury.
Match Report
Roman Pavlyuchenko scored twice as Tottenham moved a step closer to their Champions League ambitions with a 3-1 victory against Blackburn Rovers.
Jermain Defoe opened the scoring just before half-time and Pavlyuchenko bagged a second-half brace, to make it eight goals in six games.
Spurs should have gone ahead early on when Pavlyuchenko bobbled a shot over the bar after Benoit Assou-Ekotto had capitalised on some sloppy Blackburn defending.
Gareth Bale continued his impressive form and often had the beating of Blackburn right-back Michel Salgado. He set up Pavlyuchenko, who again failed to hit the target from close range.
Wilson Palacios then neatly found Defoe with a throughball but the England striker was denied by substitute keeper Jason Brown.
Spurs got their breakthrough just before half-time when a Niko Kranjcar corner found Vedran Corluka, whose header glanced across the face of goal and Defoe provided the tap-in at the back post.
Spurs extended their lead early in the second period. Luka Modric set off on the counter-attack and picked out Defoe, who unselfishly knocked the ball to Pavlyuchenko. The in-form striker fired a shot that squirmed underneath Brown, who should have done better in the Blackburn goal.
Blackburn began to threaten and a ball across the box from Martin Olsson needed a better touch from Kalinic before Spurs broke away.
Bale felt he should have had a penalty when he went down under the challenge of Salgado but referee Howard Webb waved play on.
Blackburn got back in the game late on when Morten Gamst Pedersen's corner was met by the towering Christopher Samba to make it 2-1.
Spurs won a free-kick minutes later and Bale pin-pointed Pavlyuchenko with a ball across goal but the striker squandered his shot. However, he was granted a second chance when Palacios picked out Bale to provide another telling cross for the Russian who could not miss.
Samba then acrobatically cleared Pavlyuchenko's goalbound lob to deny the Tottenham man a hat-trick.
Kalinic found the net but the striker was adjudged to have handled the ball and Spurs held out for a 3-1 win.
Tottenham Hotspur Team
- Heurelho Gomes
- Gareth Bale
- Sebastien Bassong
- Michael Dawson
- Vedran Corluka
- Benoit Assou-Ekotto
- Wilson Palacios
- Luka Modric
- Niko Kranjcar
- Roman Pavlyuchenko
- Jermain Defoe
Blackburn Rovers Team
- Paul Robinson
- Christopher Samba
- Gael Givet
- Brett Emerton
- Martin Olsson
- Michel Salgado
- Pascal Chimbonda
- David Dunn
- Morten Gamst Pedersen
- Steven N'zonzi
- Nikola Kalinic
Tottenham Hotspur | Blackburn Rovers |
Corners
| 5 | 6 |
Fouls
| 12 | 8 |
Goal attempts
Shots off target
| 8 | 4 |
Offsides
| 6 | 1 |
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90mins
There will be three minutes of added time.