FULL-TIME: Blackburn Rovers 1 Tottenham Hotspur 2 (From Lancashire Telegraph)

FULL-TIME: Blackburn Rovers 1 Tottenham Hotspur 2

5:01pm Sunday 23rd October 2011 in Blackburn Rovers match reports By Matt Baxter

Despite a slew of chances and overall dominance in the second half, Blackburn just couldn’t find the net to earn a point against Spurs.

Without definitive strikes of their own Rovers were undone by a brace from Van Der Vaart to leave the score 2-1 to Tottenham come full-time.

First-half saw Rovers giving as good as they got against Tottenham with early chances from both sides.

Gareth Bale quickly established himself as a thorn in Rovers’ side with a string of balls into Adebayor early on.

However, Rovers also got chances of their own after some strong counter-attacking from the likes of Olsson and Hoilett.

With play switching from end-to-end a goal from one side was inevitable. However, it was the away side who got the marker first after a stunning run from Walker breezed past a lagging Givet for him to place a ball to Van Der Vaart. All it took on his part was an easy tap-in to take Spurs 1-0 up inside fifteen minutes.

However, Rovers quickly fought back. A series of runs forward saw them awarded a free-kick twenty-seven minutes in. With Pedersen taking and Samba knocking it down with his head it was a sitting chance for Mauro Formica to drill home to take things level.

Throughout the remainder of the half both keepers were tested in goal though no chances from either side threatened to gain the lead.

After the break Rovers came out looking repeat their first-half form. However, throughout the opening minutes Spurs were keeping the home side pressed back into their own half.

After a missed kick from Bale their attempts soon paid off after Rafael Van Der Vaart quickly found the net again in the 52nd.

A bungling attempt to save from Friedel almost saw Formica take his second as well only for it to be quickly cleared.

Rovers were definitely not sitting back after a clever crossover pass saw Olsson get behind Spurs' defence. However, his play across goal was a wasted effort after it floated past two Rovers players only to be cleared.

Only minutes later Rovers almost had their equalizer after a long-throw from Pedersen was tipped over the bar by Friedel after Samba won the header.

Sixty-six minutes in Gareth Bale again threatened to break into the box from the wing but for a well timed tackle from Samba.

Just shy of twenty minutes to go Kean opted to switch Vukcevic and goalscorer Formica in place of Rochina and Yakubu.

Again Rovers fought to level after Hoilett battled from the wing to fire off a cross to Yakubu in the box. Unfortunately, the awkward angle saw his volley bounce for Brad Friedel to collect.

A flicked header from Roberts seemed to have finally beaten Friedel in the 75th minute but again the shot hit dipped off-target to hit the top netting.

Rovers were the dominant side as things headed into the final ten minutes with plenty of time on the ball and little room for chances from Spurs.

With the home side vying to pull level again Kean replaced the ineffective Jason Roberts with Goodwillie in hope of making the difference.

Again Rovers almost had their wish a minute later after another volley from Yakubu went just wide of the post.

The closing minutes saw desperate efforts from Rovers to clamber back the draw as they looked to finally bury one of a number of chances.

With four added minutes on the clock they had Tottenham pressed against their own box but just couldn’t seem to break through.

With chances–a-plenty Rovers must feel hard done by to at least not have gained the draw. However, with Rovers lacking a sure-fire hitman of Van Der Vaarts calibre and consistency they just couldn’t claw things back.

Despite their strong performance today no-doubt critics of Kean’s management will allow him no relief after failing to get the win Rovers need.

With a growing number of fans joining the chants to Kean’s dismissal, the pressure to deliver wins and lift Rovers away from the bottom remains higher than ever for the Scot.

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