Source: Daily_Mail
Burnley 3 Tottenham 2 (4-6 on agg): Heartbreak for the Clarets as Redknapp's men leave it late
Heartbreaker: Roman Pavlyuchenko's strike leaves the Burnley comeback heroes distraught.
Owen Coyle had warned that reaching Wembley would be the football equivalent of climbing Everest. Well, Burnley's manager and players were as near as damn it to sending Tottenham over the precipice in this pulsating semi-final second leg.
The Championship battlers, 4-1 down from the horror show that was White Hart Lane, recovered to stun Spurs with three goals inside 90 minutes then almost see out the half-hour extra time until those fateful final minutes.
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Relieved Tottenham manager Harry Redknapp said: 'We were thinking how did this happen to us? But we showed great character to get two late goals. It was looking desperate but we can now look forward to Wembley.'
Burnley had beaten Fulham, Chelsea at Stamford Bridge, then Champions League contenders Arsenal along the way - but last night was something else until substitute Pavlyuchenko struck to shatter their dream.
Blake's heaven: Man of the match Robbie Blake celebrates his goal that set Burnley on their way.
Brian Jensen, the goalkeeper the fans call The Beast, was at his best to deny Defoe and Gareth Bale the solitary goal in normal time that would have allowed Tottenham to climb on the coach early with their dignity intact.
But it was Robbie Blake's magnificent performance in the scheduled 90 minutes that took faded heroes Burnley so close to snatching their first major Wembley final in 47 years despite being overwhelmed 4-1 at White Hart Lane.
The veteran former Wigan and Birmingham forward, in his second spell at Turf Moor, shook Tottenham with a brilliant 34th-minute free kick past debut goalkeeper Ben Alnwick to put Burnley back in with a chance.
Then a great piece of trickery on the left flank and a precise cross to the far post provided midfielder Chris McCann with a second goal after 73 minutes, before another Blake free kick was spilled by Alnwick with just two minutes of normal time left.
It fell to substitute Jay Rodriguez, the hero in their earlier victory over Fulham, and the Burnley-born striker scored the third to send a 19,533 crowd wild and put Tottenham in line for a repeat of their infamous FA Cup defeat by Manchester City after leading 3-0 five years ago.
Burnley, bidding against the odds to add Tottenham to their list of distinguished Carling Cup scalps this season,were buoyed by the weather. A chilling night, spattered with a constant Lancashire drizzle, was just the ally Owen Coyle and his men were seeking.
Last gasp: Burnley's Jay Rodriguez (No 19) scores the third goal that took the tie into extra-time.
Despite going ahead in the first leg with Martin Paterson's goal, Burnley lost their grip on the tie and a vociferous Turf Moor crowd had been promised by manager Coyle that nothing would be spared in trying to put that right.
Redknapp made six changes from Sunday's 1-1 draw with Portsmouth and one of the notable absentees was Darren Bent. But Redknapp did include 22- year-old Alnwick to see how he coped with senior football - and the former Sunderland goalkeeper had to be alert to avoid picking the ball out of the net with his first touch for Tottenham.
Benoit Assou-Ekotto launched a disastrous long backpass as Burnley attacked in the opening minutes and, as the wind threatened to carry the ball under his bar, Alnwick did well to twist backward and tip it over.
Burnley, a club with a proud history and a determination to reclaim those days, had made a pre-match presentation to veteran right back Graham Alexander to mark 900 appearances for the club and Scotland.
Alexander and his defence coped well in the opening exchanges as the Premier League strugglers played with one out-and-out striker in£15million prodigal son Defoe, and Luka Modric tucked in just behind him.
Vintage Clarets: Rodriguez (centre) and his team-mates celebrate their amazing comeback.
Chris Eagles, wearing the limegreen footwear favoured by his more illustrious former team-mate Cristiano Ronaldo, was under scrutiny from a clutch of scouts, with a number of clubs interested in how well the ex-United winger might fare.
David Bentley, predictably, was the target for the Burnley boo-boys as a former Blackburn player, but their jeers turned to cheers when the England winger was shown a yellow card by referee Mark Halsey for bringing down Eagles.
Wade Elliott, back from a one-match ban, tried his best to galvanise Burnley into snatching the first-half lead they needed to have even a glimmer of hope, and his strong run produced a powerful deflected shot from Eagles.
But it was Blake who made the all-important breakthrough as Tottenham began to relax when Jonathan Woodgate conceded a free kick against Paterson 25 yards out. When a two-man wall lined up against him, the former Bradford and Birmingham forward caught out Alnwick by bending his kick around them and inside a post.
Tottenham fans took the Burnley celebrations in their stride, though some of their number must have witnessed that infamous FA Cup tie five years ago when Spurs surrendered a three-goal lead to lose 4-3 against Manchester City.
Tottenham looked for an equaliser in the second half but Burnley pushed hard in pursuit of their dream and they deservedly added a second goal from McCann after Blake's magic.
Cruel game: It's heartache for Rodriguez, left, Michael Duff and Clarke Carlisle, right, after their Wembley dream is snatched away in dramatic fashion.
Spurs tried to hit Burnley on the counter attack as their hosts pushed forward but Modric fired over and Pavlyuchenko missed a sitter before Rodriguez netted the all-important third to take the tie into extra time.
However, Spurs regrouped an earned their place at Wembley with those two late valuable goals. Michael Dawson admitted Spurs' performance was well below par but praised the way their neversay- die attitude.
He said: 'The way we played was not acceptable but give credit to them. We kept going to the end and we got our reward and we're going to Wembley. After the first leg it was in our own hands and we said we should try to keep a clean sheet early doors.
'But Blakey's scored a great goal and put us on the back foot. At half-time we said we had to go out and get the next goal, but it wasn't to be. Blake's a great players and we know what he can do.'
And the Spurs central defender, who used to clean Blake's boots at Nottingham Forest, added: 'We need to knuckle down, it's as simple as that.
'You've got to give them a lot of credit but there's a lot of work to be done. They were fantasic tonight and they made a right game of it.'
Man of the match Blake cut a forlorn figure at the end and said: 'I'm devastated. But good luck to them, I hope they go on and win it now.'
MATCH FACTSBURNLEY (4-5-1): Jensen 6; Alexander 6, Carlisle 6, Duff 6, Jordan 6 (Kalvenes 39min, 6); Eagles 6, Elliott 7, McCann 6, Gudjonsson 6 (Rodriguez 81), Blake 8; Paterson 7 (Akinbiyi 111). Booked: McCann, Duff. TOTTENHAM (4-4-1-1): Alnwick 6; Gunter 5 (Taarabt 95), Dawson 6, Woodgate 5, Assou-Ekotto 4; Bentley 5, Huddlestone 5, Zokora 6, O'Hara 6 (Bale 62, 6); Modric 6 (Pavlyuchenko 65, 6); Defoe 5. Booked: Bentley. Man of the match: Robbie Blake. Referee: Mark Halsey.
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