Blackburn Rovers 0 Tottenham Hotspur 0: Tottenham's position near the summit of the Premiership has placed them within touching distance of Chelsea, though Martin Jol has yet to master the art of rotation in the same way as his Stamford Bridge counterpart.
Spurs, who with Michael Carrick, Jermain Defoe and Edgar Davids starting on the bench, were fortunate to maintain their unbeaten start against a Blackburn side reduced to 10 men following the late dismissal of Lucas Neill. The Australian had already been booked when he clattered into Davids from behind giving Dermot Gallagher little option but to brandish a second yellow card.
That Jol's team failed to concede in the opening 45 minutes owed more to Blackburn's wastefulness in front of goal than any assured defending from Spurs. Rovers' Shefki Kuqi was the chief culprit. The former Ipswich striker was given a great opportunity to open his Blackburn account in the 29th minute when Morten Gamst Pedersen's measured pass bisected Michael Dawson and Anthony Gardner in the centre of Spurs' defence. However, Kuqi appeared to take his eye off the ball and screwed his shot wide from only eight yards.
Six minutes before the interval Robbie Savage delivered a vicious inswinging free-kick from wide on the right that eluded the Tottenham defence, though neither Andy Todd nor Neill could get to the ball.
It was not the first time that the Tottenham goalkeeper wore an expression of relief. Inside the opening 10 minutes Pedersen robbed the Spurs right-back Paul Stalteri, who was attempting to shepherd the ball out of play, but the Norwegian's low cross ran harmlessly across the face of Robinson's goal to safety.
Pedersen was a persistent threat on the left flank and with a touch of good fortune he might have given Rovers the lead, but his curling free-kick drifted narrowly wide of Robinson's near post. Steven Reid was more wayward when he flashed a 20-yard half-volley from the Norwegian's clever knock-down over the bar.
Eight minutes into the second half, Jol summoned Davids from the bench to replace the ineffective Mido. However, the Dutchman's presence in the centre of midfield was not enough to curtail Rovers' momentum.
Pedersen cut inside before flighting a right-foot cross towards Kuqi but he could only head tamely into the arms of Robinson. Savage might have been expected to welcome Davids to the game in his usual style though the Welshman chose to clatter into Teemu Tainio instead. The booking was as inevitable as both sides failure to score.
BLACKBURN: Friedel, Neill, Todd (Mokoena 81), Nelsen, Matteo, Tugay, Emerton, Savage, Reid, Pedersen, Kuqi (Johnson 87). Subs not used: Enckelman, Jansen, Gresko. Sent off: Neill (76). Booked: Neill, Savage.
TOTTENHAM: Robinson, Stalteri, Dawson, Gardner, Edman, Tainio, Pedro Mendes (Defoe 81), Brown, Reid, Mido (Davids 53), Keane. Subs not used: Naybet, Cerny, Carrick. Booked: Dawson, Davids.
Referee: D Gallagher (Oxfordshire).
