Tottenham 1 Blackburn Rovers 0:THE WHITE Hart Lane crowd acclaimed the goalkeeper throughout and it was clear that they had forgiven him for his spate of errors.
At full-time, so overcome was he that he ran over to the Park Lane End and hurled his gloves to the fans. A dream afternoon for Heurelho Gomes, after his recent tribulations?
Er, no. The goalkeeper in question was Blackburn's Paul Robinson, who made a losing return to his former club yet enjoyed a remarkable love-in with the Tottenham support. It began in the early running, when Gomes made a nervous fumble from a high ball. "England's, England's number one, " came the chant, and "You're Spurs and you know you are".
Robinson lapped it up, bantering with the crowd and acknowledging their repeated requests for waves.
"I don't normally get receptions like that when I go back to former clubs," said the Blackburn manager Paul Ince with a smile. "Robbo was fantastic. I said to him that he didn't have anything to prove because as far as I am concerned, he is the best keeper in the Premier League."
Gomes must have been bewildered. He was jittery in the opening exchanges when his touches drew ironic cheers but he was largely unemployed against a Blackburn team that played for 51 minutes with 10 men, following the dismissal of the young left-back Martin Olsson.
"It's difficult for the boy, he can hear that the crowd are singing for Robinson, he's not stupid," said the Tottenham manager. "When the crowd suddenly go 'Wooo' before he kicks the ball, it cannot help you. But I am pleased for him, the clean sheet was important. He dropped one early on. Luckily, it didn't cost us."
The afternoon ended well for Gomes and Tottenham. He even heard the Park Lane End hordes claim that they loved him, which supplemented the slightly surreal edge to the atmosphere. The home side were fully deserving of the points and, in Aaron Lennon, they had the game's outstanding performer.
The winger robbed Olsson to streak away and lay on the decisive early goal for Roman Pavlyuchenko, but that was merely the prelude. The Swedish under-21 international might still be unravelling himself this morning such was the chasing that Lennon gave to him. "Aaron's feet are so quick that you stick your foot in for the ball and suddenly, the ball's not there," said Redknapp.
Olsson might have been sent off earlier than he was. The referee, Howard Webb, had waved play on after his first clattering foul on Lennon and when he brought him down again in the same phase of play, Webb might have shown him two yellow cards rather than just the one for the second tackle.
Olsson's playing time, however, looked limited. When he was caught once again by Lennon's pace, after the winger had exchanged passes with Vedran Corluka, his late challenge gave Webb no option. Ince blanked Olsson as he walked past him towards the tunnel. Lennon enjoyed himself. His improved form and consistency has often been overlooked this season but Redknapp realises his worth.
The 21-year-old might have extended Tottenham's lead before the interval but his fierce drive from the edge of the area flicked off Ryan Nelsen, hit Robinson, who had launched himself into a full-length dive, and bounced to safety. Robinson knew little about the save but it drew further eulogies from the Tottenham crowd behind him.
Pavlyuchenko glanced a header against the upright from David Bentley's free-kick shortly after his goal but Blackburn had good chances to equalise in the first half. Brett Emerton wriggled free down the right and when Gomes left his line, the midfielder lobbed him.
The excellent Jonathan Woodgate, however, was well positioned to make a saving header in front of Benni McCarthy.
"It's been the story of our season, we're creating chances but we keep missing them," said Ince, who clashed with the Tottenham coach Joe Jordan in the tunnel at half-time and saw his team threaten less after the interval.
Guardian Service
