Rate it!

8 votes

Tottenham Hotspur's Croatian connection earned them a 2-2 draw against Bolton Wanderers in a pulsating match at the Reebok Stadium.

Twice the home side led, through Ricardo Gardner and Kevin Davies, but Spurs drew level with goals from Niko Kranjcar (pictured) and Vedran Corluka.

Although they failed to record their first home win of this Premier League campaign, Bolton played with enough energy and invention to suggest avoiding relegation should not pose a problem.

Tottenham entered the game in a state of mild confusion over manager Harry Redknapp, caused by strong speculation on Friday - described by Redknapp as "total rubbish" - that he would quit and return to Portsmouth for a third stint.

Jermain Defoe's hand injury meant he was restricted to the bench, although it gave Redknapp the chance to rotate his strike force; Peter Crouch coming in for only his second Premier League start this season.

The Trotters opened the scoring with their first attack on three minutes. Jlloyd Samuel flung a long throw from the left that Sebastien Bassong inadvertently flicked on. Lee Chung-Yong volleyed goalwards and Carlo Cudicini parried, but Gardner powered the rebound into the roof of the net.

It proved a deserved lead, with the home side passing the ball slickly in midfield through Gardner, Matthew Taylor and Tamir Cohen.

Lee, playing on the right side of an attacking trident, was an electric presence; his speed of thought and movement a constant menace for Spurs.

This threat was in evidence when Tom Huddlestone miscontrolled slightly and the Korean pounced on him, coming within millimetres of knocking the ball past the defender to set up an easy chance for himself.

Cudicini had to be alert twice in the first half when Taylor played Cohen through, and both times the goalkeeper came out smartly to charge the ball down.

At the other end, Tottenham barely had a sniff. Kranjcar saw a 25-yard shot deflected over but Jussi Jaaskelainen was not tested before the equaliser on 34 minutes.

Wilson Palacios lobbed a ball into the box for Crouch to head down for Kranjcar, who struck the ball low into the net on the second bounce. It was a simple move, and the kind of goal more readily associated with Bolton than Spurs.

Undeterred by the equaliser, the home side continued to dominate, and the second half followed much the same pattern as the first; Bolton on top, Spurs dangerous on the break.

One such counter-attack saw Aaron Lennon test Jaaskelainen with a left-foot shot on 55 minutes, and soon after the ball ricocheted to Crouch, who sidefooted an instinctive shot just over.

Lee remained Bolton's main creative force, and he supplied a free-kick that Gary Cahill headed just over, before setting up the second on 69 minutes.

Gardner chested down to the Korean, who sent a sublime backheel into the path of Cohen, whose chipped cross found Davies attacking the back post - he converted from a yard out.

This time the visitors' response was immediate. First Jaaskelainen spilled a Defoe shot and Crouch somehow hit the rebound into the floor and watched it bounce up onto the bar.

Then the Croatian pair made it two-all, as Corluka met an outswinging Kranjcar corner with an unstoppable header.

The action was not over. Taylor forced a fine save from Cudicini with a looping header, before Crouch inexplicably juggled the ball instead of shooting when Defoe found him in space six yards out.

Alex Chick / Eurosport