Wolves 3-3 Tottenham: Daily Mirror match report
Published 23:01 06/03/11 By Darren Lewis
What a game. What a tribute to the memory of both clubs' favourite son.
What a white-knuckle ride through a contest that summed up the stakes heading into the climax of the closest-ever Premier League season.
Dean Richards' send-off left a lump in the throat as his former team-mates, bosses and family said their goodbyes.
Then, however, came the six-gun salute. And boy, were armchair viewers and paying punters alike left on the edge of their seats.
Now that the dust has settled Spurs will reflect on another two points dropped in the race for the top four and their inability to win against any of the bottom five teams all season.
Wolves boss Mick McCarthy will feel justice has been done after a string of incredible decisions that left him wondering if someone, somewhere has it in for him.
How on earth did Alan Hutton not see red six minutes before half time for blatantly pulling back Nenad Milijas as he shaped to score? A clear denial of a goalscoring opportunity.
How did referee Mark Halsey not blow late in the second half when Alan Hutton handled Matt Jarvis's cross inside the Spurs area? A clear penalty.
And how lucky were the north Londoners to have Richard Stearman's headed goal ruled out for a foul on keeper Heurelho Gomes? It really was a game that had everything.
As for Tottenham, AC Milan may loom large on the horizon on Wednesday night and the San Siro slowcoaches may well be there for the taking.
But unless Harry Redknapp's boys sort it out it will be Europa League football next season. The White Hart Lane boss was in philosophical mood afterwards and you could understand his point of view.
Manchester United, Manchester United and Chelsea have all been put to the sword at Molineux this season which meant there was no shame in being held by Mick McCarthy's men.
Spurs fans don't see it that way, however, with Champions League football next season firmly in the balance after looking in Tottenham's hands.
The goal-fest started 20 minutes in when Kevin Doyle gave the home side the lead with a flicked header off Nenad Milijas's cross.
Jermain Defoe ended the freak statistic that has seen him fail to score in the League all season with a belter on the half hour. It was all his own work too as, fed up of not getting any service, he latched onto a loose ball outside the box and lashed it beyond Wolves keeper Wayne Hennessey.
The cheering had barely stopped from the Spurs fans before Defoe was at it again, curling in a beauty from the edge of the Wolves box.
Then came, however, a pivotal moment in the match. Halsey ruled that a Hutton's pull on Milijas as he prepared to tuck the ball home inside the six-yard box was not a denial of an obvious goalscoring opportunity.
The official produced a yellow card instead of a red. The crowd went mad. And rightly so. Cries of: "If That Was Us, You'd Send Him Off" rang out from the South Bank.
To be fair it was hard to disagree. This was not about Hutton being the last man. If being in the six-yard box unmarked is not an obvious goalscoring opportunity I don't know what is.
Doyle stuck away the penalty but Spurs should have been a man light.
And Salt was rubbed firmly in the wound three minutes after half time when Roman Pavlyuchenko speared Spurs further ahead. His effort came after Luka Modric's shot was blocked and at that point Tottenham appeared in cruise control.
But Wolves are nothing if not fighters and they scrapped for their lives. George Elukobi blew a six-yard sitter when he scooped over the bar on 70. Milijas blasted over the Spurs bar a minute later.
And although the introduction of Gareth Bale and Aaron Lennon gave the Wanderers something to worry about, they just kept coming. Ten minutes from time they should have had that spot-kick for Hutton's handball from Matty Jarvis' cross.
Hennessey was alert enough at the other end to keep out Bale who bullied his way past two defenders and looked certain to score.
Stearman had that header ruled out and Gomes brought the house down with a sensational, full-stretch save to push a powerful drive from Milijas.
There was time for even more drama seven minutes from time when Defoe smashed a cutback from Sandro onto the base of the Wolves post.
But the big finish belonged to the bottom of the table battlers.
McCarthy's men looked to have no more left to give as the clocked ticked down. But Jarvis send a peach of a cross into the box for sub Steven Fletcher, who looped his header over Gomes.
Both teams may have felt hard done by at the end. But this was right up there was the very best games the Premier League has had to offer all season.
