Bolton 2-2 Tottenham; 3rd Oct 2009

Source: www.espnstar.com

Tottenham's manager Harry Redknapp saw his side get some reward for a battling display at the Reebok Stadium.

Twice behind in an open game they secured a point thanks to a goal from Vedran Corluka in the 73rd minute.

Tottenham went into the match without a win in nine attempts at the ground and then got off to a terrible start.

Ricardo Gardner opened the scoring in the second minute and that could have been the cue for another bad day in Bolton.

Instead Tottenham regrouped and equalised 30 minutes later through Niko Kranjcar. Even though Kevin Davies equalised they refused to lie down.

Bolton got off to a flying start when the visitors failed to deal with a long throw from Jlloyd Samuel.

Lee Chung-Yong was unmarked at the back post and helped the ball on. Ricardo Gardner then got a vital touch to send his effort beyond Carlo Cudicini.

Bolton were playing some good football and Gardner skipped away in the 13th minute before releasing Tamir Cohen with a neat through-ball.

The Israel midfielder got a good touch inside the area but his effort was diverted to safety - much to Tottenham's relief.

Cohen was then booked in the 31st minute for a challenge on Wilson Palacios which left the Spurs player writhing on the floor.

Palacios made a quick recovery, however, and had a hand in their equaliser. He delivered the ball to Peter Crouch, who nodded it on and Kranjcar sent a stunning shot into the net.

Bolton responded and Zat Knight met Matt Taylor's free-kick in the 38th minute but was off-balance and headed wide.

Then Cohen clipped the ball wide after good link-up play involving Kevin Davies and Taylor.

Tottenham were left badly exposed on the stroke of half-time when Taylor sprung the offside trap.

He homed in on goal but Cudicini was alert to the danger and was happy to concede a corner.

Bolton carved out a good chance after 50 minutes when Davies got away from Tom Huddlestone down the right.

The tenacious striker played the ball into the path of Lee, who was lurking in the penalty area. However the Korean opted to try and release Taylor instead of shooting and his pass was easily cut out.

Tottenham should have taken the lead five minutes later following a blistering run from Aaron Lennon.

The England winger fired in a shot that Jussi Jaaskelainen did well to beat away but only to Palacios six yards out.

Palacios was well placed in front of goal but only succeeded in sending his effort closer to the corner flag.

Jermain Defoe, suffering from two dislocated fingers, was then called up in the 67th minute for Robbie Keane, who had been ineffective.

Bolton then took the lead when Cohen chipped the ball to the back post and Davies headed in his third goal of the campaign.

Tottenham, however, almost drew level in the 72nd minute after Jaaskelainen spilled a shot from Defoe. The ball landed kindly at the feet of Crouch but his effort hit the bar.

A minute later the visitors drew level for the second time in the game. Corluka was left unmarked as Kranjcar delivered a corner and headed high into the net.

Tottenham finished strongly. Lennon then surged into the area after linking up with Kranjcar only to see his effort blocked by Sam Ricketts.

The Bolton full-back again carried out his defensive duties in the 85th minute to get in a timely challenge on Crouch.

Chelsea 3-0 Tottenham Hotspur (20th Sept 2009)

Source: www.espnstar.com

Chelsea remained top of the Barclays Premier League after a demolition of London rivals Tottenham at Stamford Bridge.

Ashley Cole put the Blues on the way to a comfortable victory with a first-half header and Michael Ballack made it two in the 57th minute.

Didier Drogba finished Spurs off with a third in the 62nd minute to make it six straight wins for the Blues and leave them three points clear of Manchester United at the summit.

To make matters worse for Spurs they lost both Ledley King and Sebastien Bassong through injury to leave Harry Redknapp with a defensive crisis.

There was bad news for Chelasea, too, as Drogba exited seven minutes from time with a calf problem.

Chelsea almost went ahead in the seventh minute when an angled drive from Jose Bosingwa cannoned off the crossbar.

But the Blues had Petr Cech to thank in the 11th minute when Jermain Defoe sprinted clear of the Chelsea defence only to see the Chelsea keeper stick out a leg to deny him.

Tottenham were now enjoying the majority of the possession and Jermaine Jenas was inches wide with a 20-yard drive that had Cech beaten.

It was enough to encourage Chelsea boss Carlo Ancelotti off his seat and into the technical area.

His presence almost had an immediate effect as Frank Lampard headed just wide from a cross by Nicolas Anelka in the 17th minute.

In the 22nd minute Anelka sent a powerful volley into the side netting after a cross from Florent Malouda had made its way across the six-yard box without attention from the Spurs defenders.

Chelsea felt they should have had a penalty in the 31st minute when Ballack collided with Vedran Corluka but referee Howard Webb rejected their appeals.

But his decision was of little consequence when Chelsea went ahead a minute later.

Drogba turned supplier with a superb cross into the middle of the Spurs penalty area and Cole got in front of Corluka to put a diving header into the net beyond former Chelsea keeper Carlo Cudicini.

The game had erupted into life at last and it was now a full-blooded derby with tackles flying in from both sides.

Drogba was the target for some rough stuff from the Spurs players as the temperature began to rise.

Chelsea won a free-kick in a central position some 25 yards out when Tom Huddlestone jumped into Ballack two minutes before the interval.

But Drogba hit the free-kick straight at Tottenham's defensive wall.

Chelsea should have gone two in front in the 46th minute but Lampard drove wide after Drogba had found him with a low cross.

In the build-up to Lampard's chance, Spurs defender King sustained a knock that forced his retirement from the action.

Alan Hutton replaced the stricken King with Corluka moving from right-back into the centre of defence alongside Bassong.

Spurs were furious in the 54th minute when Robbie Keane went down under a challenge from Ricardo Carvalho.

Referee Webb rejected Tottenham's appeals but TV replays appeared to show that the Chelsea defender had clipped the Spurs striker's heels.

The debate continued to rage on the pitch with Keane protesting to both Carvalho and Webb that is should have been a spot-kick.

Chelsea made Spurs pay moments later when Ballack made it 2-0.

Drogba's 57th-minute shot was well saved by Cudicini but Lampard followed up to roll the ball back into the six-yard box where Ballack was waiting to poke it home from point-blank range.

Chelsea were at their fluid best with a two-goal cushion and Bosingwa forced Cudicini into another save with a left-foot drive from 20-yards.

Not surprisingly the Blues went three in front in the 62nd minute when Drogba fired home from six yards for his fifth goal of the season.

Cudicini almost gifted Chelsea a fourth in the 73rd minute when he allowed a shot by substitute John Obi Mikel to creep under his body.

But the Italian keeper was alert enough to recover the ball before it could cross the goal line.

It got worse for Spurs when centre-half Bassong fell awkwardly on his shoulder and had to be carried off after lengthy treatment. He was replaced by Niko Kranjcar.

But Chelsea also lost striker Drogba with a calf injury in the 83rd minute which will give coach Ancelotti real cause for concern if he is out for any length of time.

Match Report - Tottenham vs Middlesbrough - 4th March 2009

Source: www.espnstar.com

Robbie Keane's first goal since returning to Tottenham and a double from Aaron Lennon ensured there was no Carling Cup hangover for Harry Redknapp's men as they romped to a 4-0 victory over Middlesbrough.

Keane opened the scoring before Roman Pavlyuchenko and Lennon added to the scoreline before the break as Spurs moved closer to mid-table after starting the match two points above the Barclays Premier League relegation zone.

Lennon then added a fourth in the second half at White Hart Lane, building on his performance at Wembley on Sunday when he had the beating of Manchester United full-back Patrice Evra.

It was just the response Spurs boss Redknapp wanted after losing on penalties to United, a clash Keane was cup-tied for after playing three minutes earlier in the competition for Liverpool.

That was part of an unhappy six months at Anfield - but he helped erase those memories with the opener in the ninth minute.

Luka Modric's corner was flicked on by Michael Dawson and Keane stabbed home from close range.

It was his first goal at Spurs' home ground in nearly a year and it came in his third appearance since returning.

Redknapp had wanted a positive reply in contrast to last season, while Juande Ramos was boss, when Spurs won just three more league matches after going to Wembley.

Despite Keane settling the nerves, Spurs were still not in total control after the opener.

Tuncay Sanli thought he had equalised when he latched on to Stewart Downing's long pass and finished off, only for the assistant referee to halt his celebrations.

Pavlyuchenko rubbed salt into the wound by adding the second in the 14th minute, finishing off Modric's cross from six yards out after the Croatia playmaker turned Robert Huth.

If Tuncay thought he was unfortunate to have his goal disallowed, he must have thought he had run out of luck when he drilled a shot that was blocked by Dawson's backside as the defender bravely slid in.

Keane should have extended the lead 10 minutes before the break when Modric weighted a pass through and Brad Jones had to rush out to block the finish - then the Spurs skipper for the night helped set up the third.

Almost the whole of the Spurs team had a hand in the goal as they strung together pass after pass, but it was Keane who threaded the ball through Huth's legs to give Lennon a clear run on goal.

Lennon followed up his Wembley performance with a cool finish, with Boro boss Gareth Southgate turning to his dugout in disgust at the ease in which the hosts had scored.

Huth's mistakes for two of the three first-half goals meant he was hauled off at half-time and replaced by Andrew Taylor.

It was a disastrous 45 minutes rather than the solid performance Southgate wanted after beating Liverpool at the weekend, a first victory in 15 attempts.

It could have been different had Downing, who Spurs made a bid for during the January transfer window, put away an early chance to open the scoring.

Seizing on Jonathan Woodgate's poor clearance, Downing fired an angled shot that Heurelho Gomes had to parry away, with Benoit Assou-Ekotto beating Tuncay to the rebound.

But after Spurs put away their chances, Boro were playing for pride and looking to avoid the psychological damage of a heavy defeat.

Spurs went in search of a fourth goal after the break and asked for a penalty when Keane was bundled over by Emanuel Pogatetz.

Tuncay's looping effort struck Gomes' far post in the second half - and Boro needed that to go in if there was any hope of a comeback.

Lennon added the fourth with 11 minutes remaining, chipping home after Keane slipped him through.