Blackburn's UEFA hopes dashed

Jermaine Defoe has squashed Blackburn's hopes of a direct route into the UEFA Cup after scoring a leveller for Tottenham.

Mark Hughes' men were heading towards victory when Benni McCarthy opened the scoring after 32 minutes.

But after halftime, Christopher Samba headed against the bar before Jermain Defoe came to his assistance to tap in the equaliser.

Roberts looked to double the lead a minute later but his long-range effort was deflected and Paul Robinson saved.

Robinson was then forced to scramble clear when Michael Dawson sold him short with a backpass.

David Bentley was also given an opportunity when Chimbonda ran into trouble on the edge of his own area, but the former Arsenal midfielder chipped over.

Aaron Lennon and Hossam Ghaly came closer towards the break but Brad Friedel did not have to work too hard.

Nayim, the former Spurs midfielder who famously lobbed in from the halfway line for Real Zaragoza in the 1995 Cup Winners' Cup final against Arsenal, was paraded at the interval.

There was little for Spurs fans to sing about immediately after the break either, although they appealed when Samba appeared to use his arm while clearing a corner.

After Pedersen had picked up a yellow card for fouling Defoe, Berbatov forced Friedel into a save with the free-kick which home fans optimistically yet wrongly claimed crossed the line as the American claimed at the second attempt.

Martin Jol brought on Robbie Keane in the 59th minute to replace substitute Ghaly, who threw his shirt to the floor in front of his manager.

Despite having three strikers with 60 goals between them, Spurs were inches from going 2-0 down when Samba's header from Pedersen's free-kick glanced off the bar to safety.

And it proved a telling moment as Spurs levelled with 23 minutes left - with all three strikers having a hand in the goal.

Keane fed Berbatov, who spun on the edge of the area and fired a shot away, Friedel could only parry and Defoe tapped in.

Rovers boss Mark Hughes introduced strikers Matt Derbyshire and Paul Gallagher for Mokoena and Tugay respectively in the closing stages as he sought the crucial breakthrough.

But it was the hosts who went closest to a winner, with Dawson seeing two efforts go wide, before Robbie Keane hit the post in the first of four minutes of stoppage-time, with Roberts' dismissal the last action of the game.

Both sides eyed European qualification, and the Rovers needed two wins from their final two games and other results to go in their favour.

But now Martin Jol's side only need a point from their final match of the season against Manchester City at home to ensure a top-seven finish.

© Independent Television News Limited 2007. All rights reserved.