Blackburn Rovers 1 Tottenham Hotspur 1

But don't expect Blackburn manager Mark Hughes to rush to his nearest cinema for an advanced screening because the Welshman has seen it all before!

This was a case of 'Deja vu' all over again for the frustrated Rovers boss.

Another harsh penalty decision; another ludicrous sending off; another incompetent display by the match officials; and, most importantly, another weekend without a win in the Premiership.

After four defeats on the spin in the league, Rovers may have stopped the rot here with a point, but Hughes was anything but satisfied with the final outcome at the end of this feisty encounter.

A breathtaking goal from Tugay appeared to have put Rovers on course for their first league win since Wigan Athletic were defeated here on October 1, but then things went from the sublime to the ridiculous for Hughes' ageing midfield genius.

A slick Spurs counter-attack suddenly left Tugay in a one-on-one situation with the speedy Hossam Ghaly as he glided into the box in the 61st minute.

Tugay made a genuine attempt to get the ball with a sliding tackle, but the Spurs midfielder cleverly changed direction and tripped over the Turk's trailing leg as he cut inside.

Penalty!' said referee Phil Dowd, who showed little hesitation in pointing to the spot.

A posse of Rovers players, led by Andre Ooijer, then angrily protested with the Staffordshire official, urging him to seek a second opinion from his assistant, which he duly did.

But, instead of changing his mind about the penalty award following a brief chat by the corner flag, Dowd actually increased the punishment and farcically ordered Tugay off as well.

No doubt the assistant would argue that, as the last man, the Turk deserved to go.

But a furious Hughes later slammed that suggestion, claiming any contact was purely accidental.

To make matters worse, Rovers were then denied what looked a clear penalty when Mido handled in the area at the opposite end.

Not surprisingly, Hughes looked ready to erupt in his technical area.

Not for the first time this season, Rovers found themselves on the wrong end of a couple of poor decisions, and it's starting to cost them vital ground in the Premiership.

"These are big decisions, and big decisions that have a direct effect on the game," fumed the Rovers chief.

"There's been too many occasions this season when big decisions have gone against us that have directly affected the result in a negative way.

"We had it at Villa, we had it at Sheffield United, and it's happened again today.

"Of the seven penalties that have now been given against us, you could question three or four of those decisions.

"It's difficult to take. People will tell me that, over the course of the season, these things even themselves out, but I'm starting to believe that's not the case, to be perfectly honest."

With Zurab Khizanishvili missing through suspension and Lucas Neill sidelined by a hamstring injury, Hughes was forced to make changes at the back, so in came Michael Gray and Stephane Henchoz, the latter getting the nod ahead of the out-of-favour Andy Todd.

Robbie Savage also made a welcome return in midfield at the expense of Aaron Mokoena, and the Welshman's extra bite in the engine room gave Rovers a greater competitive edge.

Spurs boss Martin Jol, meanwhile, surprisingly demoted Robbie Keane to the bench, even though the in-form Irishman had scored his first ever international hat-trick for the Republic of Ireland four days earlier.

Shabani Nonda appeared to have got Rovers off to the perfect start when he slid a cool finish beyond the England goalkeeper Paul Robinson in the seventh minute, but the African had strayed a yard offside when accelerating onto David Bentley's clever pass and his effort was ruled out.

The bespectacled Edgar Davids then fired an early warning at the opposite end with a low drive that crept a yard wide of Brad Friedel's left-hand post.

But Spurs were then rocked to the core in the 23rd minute when Tugay produced yet another goal of the season contender.

Ledley King must have thought he had averted the danger when his towering header cleared the penalty area.

But there was Tugay, 25 yards out, his finger poised over the trigger, and the Turk unleashed a booming volley that rocketed past Robinson and exploded into the net. An amazing strike from an amazing talent!

Things might have got even worse for the visitors had Dowd decided to show Mido a red card, rather than a yellow, when the Egyptian striker caught Henchoz flush in the face with a stray elbow.

Gradually, though, Spurs regained their composure and they had several chances to restore parity before the break, but Jermain Defoe shot straight at Friedel after spinning past Henchoz, then the same player was unlucky with a bicycle kick that sailed inches over the bar.

Mido also scuffed another presentable chance high and wide, which brought howls of derision from the Blackburn End.

Sensing the need to inject more craft into his side, Jol replaced Davids with the more attack-minded Steed Malbranque at the beginning of the second half and within moments of his arrival, Spurs appeared to be celebrating an equaliser.

Mido rose unchallenged to power home a header, but the Egyptian was correctly ruled offside.

Sadly, Rovers' reprieve was to prove only temporary as Tugay's challenge on Ghaly led to the penalty, which Defoe just squeezed past Friedel.

Reduced to 10-men, Rovers could have folded, but they didn't.

In fact, if anything, they looked the side most likely to nick a winner.

McCarthy twice went close - once with an impish flick.

Then Mido escaped censure after a clear handling offence in the area.

In a frantic finale, Ghaly also saw red after he led with his arm when contesting a header with Gray, and his manager Jol joined him in the dressing room for taking his protests too far.

By then, though, the damage had been done. A definite case of Deja vu.

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