The second half was highly competitive as Tottenham’s Lilywhites grew lily-livered and Blackburn’s attacks strobed with energy. After several minutes of standing by the touchline stripped off and ready, Defoe was told that he would not come on after all. He declined the offer of a sweatshirt and walked down the tunnel. Missing an exciting last few minutes.
Not that his England colleagues did themselves any favours with their own opportunities to impress. Ledley King was blunder-prone, Michael Carrick’s pest-control efforts faltered as Rovers swarmed forward and Jermaine Jenas was mostly irrelevant. Paul Robinson was a notable exception. Tottenham’s defending was dubious in the immediate aftermath of the second Blackburn goal. With Keane rampant, at least there was nothing arid about Spurs in attack.