Blackburn Rovers 1 Tottenham Hotspur 1

Last updated : 21 November 2006 By SpursMAD

Spurs passed the ball around with a bit of authority in the opening period.

After both sides scored the visitors looked the more likely side, but on reflection a point-a-piece was about right.

Martin Jol: "Overall I was a little disappointed but on the other hand, Blackburn were a handful."

"I don't think we had many problems in the first half, we had a couple of half-chances with Mido and Jermain Defoe but then Tugay scored an unbelievable goal."

"I thought 'here we go again' but I still felt we had enough quality and in the second half I think we proved that, although it was always difficult.

"They got a sending off and perhaps we could have done a bit more 11 against 10 but on the other hand, they were full of energy and tried to hit us on the break. We thought we would have a couple of chances at goal but it wasn't to be."

On the two red cards, one for each side: "According to the rules, he (Tugay) was in a one against one with the keeper."

"He (Ghaly) just jumped with his arms high, that was the only thing. It was never intentional."

Chris Hughton: "I think we were probably the happier of the two teams before their goal with the way we were playing. Defensively we didn't give too much away and I thought we were fairly comfortable.

"We improved our attacking play as the half progressed because we hadn't threatened them enough in the final third. We finished the half alright, and I thought we responded well in the second half. On the balance of play and possession, we thoroughly deserved our point at least.

"The only disappointing aspect was the fact they went down to ten men and we didn't push on and get the win.

"The first big decision was whether the sending off of Tugay was warranted or not.

"The red card shown to Hossam you could clearly see was harsh when you watched it again. The contact wasn't that great and wasn't with his elbow but, at the time, it was one which looked worse than it was.


Jermain Defoe: "I was quite confident and as soon as Ghaly went down I thought I would hit my spot and score. I had to try and stay focused and think positive. It was nice to see it go in."

"We were disappointed we didn't win the game, especially after they went down to ten men. I felt sharp and I thought all the boys did really well.

"The character of our team was superb. It was a little bit mad towards the end, but it was a good game to play in."

Source: TottenhamHotspur.com