Defoe scores as Tottenham held by Pompey
Jermain Defoe scored against former club
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Sunday, 18, Jan 2009 11:03
Jermain Defoe scored against his former club as Tottenham came from a goal down to earn a 1-1 draw against Portsmouth at White Hart Lane.
In a really exciting and open game, both sides had numerous chances but were only able to take one each. David Nugent scored his first Premier League goal to give Pompey the lead and it looked like they would take all three points with David James in fine form, but Defoe finished clinically to earn his team a point.
Defoe had a golden opportunity to silence the Portsmouth boo-boys inside the first ten minutes. The striker had a clear run on goal after he intercepted a terrible attempted cross-field ball by Portsmouth midfielder Sean Davis, but Defoe arrowed his shot wide of the goal.
Portsmouth defence looked shaky and gave Spurs too much time and space on the ball. Aaron Lennon found space on the edge of the box and with the Pompey defenders backing off, the winger had a low shot on goal which was comfortably saved by James.
Spurs keeper Heurelho Gomes was recently given a vote of confidence by Harry Redknapp, but he almost made a mistake which could have gifted Portsmouth a goal. The Brazilian fumbled a Glenn Johnson shot but he was able to palm away the ball before Peter Crouch could dive in and score a certain goal.
James was called into making another fine save from Lennon when the winger dribbled the ball across the face of the Portsmouth box and let fly with a right foot shot which James dived to stop.
The match was played at an electrifying pace in the first-half with chances at both ends. Both teams should have scored within two minutes of each other. First Defoe headed over from five yards out after a good ball into the box from Lennon and then Vedran Corluka made fine last ditch tackle to stop Crouch from tapping into open goal.
James was having a fine game for Portsmouth as he made another great save to keep the game goalless. This time the England star was forced to dive low to his left to stop a Ledley King header from going in.
The injury-prone King suffered a hamstring problem towards the end of the first-half. But Spurs took too long to take him off and they almost paid the price as David Nugent outpaced a hobbling King to have a clear run on goal before he fired his shot straight at Gomes.
The game was starting to become the David James show. The 39-year-old once again showed why he is still one of the best goalkeepers in the league as he splendidly managed to claw out a deflected Lennon shot which was inches away from being over the line.
With the next attack of the game Portsmouth had the lead thanks to a drilled shot into the bottom left hand corner from Nugent, who claimed his first goal in the Premier League.
In a pulsating end-to-end match Spurs were level less than ten minutes later and inevitably it was Defoe who scored. The former Pompey man received the ball from Luka Modric on the edge of the box and smashed the ball through the legs of Sol Campbell and past James.
Substitute Darren Bent wasted an unbelievable chance to win the game for Spurs. David Bentley lofted a ball into the box and Bent had a free header from three yards out but he somehow managed to steer the ball wide.