SOCCER ENGLISH LEAGUE CUP: Burnley 3 Tottenham 2TWENTY-FIVE years does not prepare you for all eventualities in management. Harry Redknapp may have believed he had seen it all since embarking on his career at Bournemouth but rarely has he presided over a collapse as dramatic – and an escape as unlikely – with late strikes in extra-time from Roman Pavlyuchenko and Jermain Defoe securing Tottenham's place in the League Cup final last night.
Four-one up and coasting towards a final date with Manchester United, Spurs were left bedraggled as Owen Coyle’s emerging Burnley team produced a comeback that, in Turf Moor folklore at least, will be compared to Liverpool’s miracle in Istanbul in 2005. Sadly, it did not have the same happy ending.
Visions of Wembley had all but disappeared for Burnley during their second-half aberration at White Hart Lane, when four Tottenham goals turned an intriguing contest into a foregone conclusion, and their manager saw no point in claiming otherwise. “There’s no doubt we’re trying to climb Everest and beyond,” admitted Coyle before last night’s kick-off, albeit with the caveat his enterprising team had never failed him on mountainous tasks before.
With the backing of a rain-swept and raucous Turf Moor the Championship club were never likely to disappoint their manager in terms of effort, and nor did they. Their prospects of rediscovering hope in this semi-final, of at least scaring Spurs en route to the final, were dependent on opening the scoring.
And Everest suddenly appeared less of an obstacle when Robbie Blake swept Burnley into a merited lead in the 34th minute.
Redknapp had taken only minimal risk with his selection, with Tottenham’s adventure limited to Luka Modric playing in behind Jermain Defoe and two banks of four evidently designed to protect the visitors’ comfortable first-leg lead. One Defoe effort apart, a low snap-shot that Brian Jensen pushed wide of the Burnley goal, Tottenham’s early endeavours were restricted to keeping their opponents at bay. That was easier said than done given the accuracy and speed with which Chris Eagles, Blake and the Burnley midfield spread the play around the Premier League defence.
Burnley almost took the lead they craved in only the sixth minute when the Spurs left-back, Benoit Assou-Ekotto, lofted a hare-brained back-pass towards Ben Alnwick and the stand-in goalkeeper reacted sharply to tip the ball out for a corner.
With Coyle’s side dominating possession but struggling to create clearcut opportunities the crowd found greater solace in baiting David Bentley. Their former Blackburn Rovers’ rival was restored to the Tottenham line-up under no illusion that Redknapp is demanding more from the club’s €16 million summer recruit.
The semi-final gained fresh impetus in imperious fashion. A foul on the lone striker Martin Paterson presented Blake with a difficult free-kick to the right of the Tottenham goal. Buoyed by a free-kick driven into the top corner of Preston’s goal at the weekend, the striker repeated the trick with a fabulous finish beyond Alnwick’s left hand. Tottenham’s wake-up call had arrived.
With the wind behind them in the second half Spurs carried more of a threat and engineered chances to have booked their place in the final with little fuss. Every glaring miss, however, added to the tension in the visiting ranks.
Bentley was the first Tottenham culprit when he side-footed against Jensen’s post from six yards, although his embarrassment was spared by an offside flag. Tom Huddlestone released Gareth Bale clear down the left only for the substitute to scuff his shot wide of the far post and then Defoe failed to capitalise on a slip by Clarke Carlisle that left the striker with only the Burnley goalkeeper to beat. Jensen also denied Defoe at point-blank range having parried a drive from Bale.
By that stage Turf Moor was in tumult after Blake had surged beyond two Spurs defenders and crossed low for Chris McCann to convert at the back post. Seventeen minutes remained for Burnley to complete the comeback or for the visitors to hold their nerve. The nerve gave way. In the 88th minute Alnwick dropped a hopeful punt forward under pressure from his own defender and the Burnley substitute, Jay Rodriguez, gratefully converted.
GuardianService
BURNLEY: Jensen, Alexander, Duff, Carlisle, Jordan (Kalvenes 39), Elliott, Eagles, Gudjonsson (Rodriguez 81), McCann, Blake, Paterson (Akinbiyi 100). Subs Not Used: Penny, McDonald, Mahon, MacDonald. Booked: McCann, Duff.
TOTTENHAM: Alnwick, Gunter (Taarabt 95), Woodgate, Dawson, Assou-Ekotto, Bentley, Zokora, Huddlestone, O'Hara (Bale 62), Modric (Pavlyuchenko 65), Defoe. Subs Not Used: Cesar, Giovani, Campbell, Rocha. Booked: Bentley.
Referee: Mark Halsey (Lancashire).
