Tottenham vs Aston Villa Oct 07

Tottenham Hotspur 4- 4 Aston Villa
1st October 2007, White Hart Lane



Tottenham Hotspur completed a sensational comeback last night, as Younes Kaboul 90th minute equaliser earned Martin Jol’s struggling side a 4-4 draw.
On the night of the club’s 125th year anniversary, a host of Tottenham legends were paraded before the crowd prior to kick-off. And it was Dimitar Berbatov, a fans favourite, if not yet a legend, who opened the scoring, heading home a Tom Huddlestone corner to give Spurs the lead on 20 minutes. Indeed it was the home side who started brightest, passing the ball well, with the impressive Gareth Bale buccaneering frequently down the left hand side. For all Tottenham’s pressure, Luke Moore and Gabriel Agbonlahor still looked threatening, however it was the Spurs keeper, rather than the Villa strikers who was responsible for Villa taking the lead. Paul Robinson, whose England jersey is under ever-increasing scrutiny, first gifted Martin Laursen the equaliser, inexplicably dropping a corner at the defender’s feet, before allowing a header from the Danish International through his legs and into the back of the net. And five minutes before the break, the impressive Agbonlahor out-muscled Michael Dawson before firing his shot past Robinson into the far corner.
When local-boy Craig Gardner scored a close-range free-kick on 60 minutes to make it 4-1, Tottenham’s celebrations seemed to be well and truly spoiled. The introduction of Jermaine Defoe, much to the delight of the home fans, sparked Tottenham into life. Indeed after another Defoe effort hit the woodwork, Pascal Chimbonda, who spent as much time in Villa’s penalty box as he did defending, applied the finish to make it 4-2. It seemed that Villa were perfectly capable of holding on to their lead, despite the introduction of Darren Bent, but it was a substitute for the away side, who made a bigger impact. Marlon Hareword hauled down Defoe in the box, and Robbie Keane calmly slotted home an 82nd minute penalty.
Tottenham piled on the pressure in the final few minutes; Robinson himself coming forward for a corner looking to redeem himself, before summer signing Younes Kaboul slammed home from close range in the dying minutes to send the Spurs fans into raptures. The players themselves rushed to the bench, possibly in a show of support for their under-fire manager. Villa will be wondering how they did not come away with three points, while for all Spur’s last minute elation they still find themselves in the relegation zone, with only one win in eight.