A world-class strike from Tom Huddlestone was enough to claim all three points against Bolton.
In-form Welshman produces another fine display
A world-class strike from Tom Huddlestone was enough to claim all three points against Bolton as the race for fourth place hots up.
The midfielder never thought twice as he struck the ball first time into the roof of the net from a Benoit Assou-Ekotto lay-off.
The game was a tense encounter as the pressure was on Spurs who had to win if they were to keep their chances of claiming fourth spot and their ticket to the UEFA Champions League alive.
Despite the home side's number of corners going into double figures, Harry Redknapp's men failed to convert a host of chances with striker Roman Pavlyuchenko at the heart of the efforts.
Gareth Bale was once again outstanding and should have put the game to bed in the second half but Jussi Jaaskelainen got down well to push away the Welshman's effort. Matt Taylor's volley then forced Heurelho Gomes into a top drawer save.
Tottenham knew before the kick-off that it was a must-win game as the Premier League's fourth-placed team invited a battling Bolton outfit to White Hart Lane.
It took a while for the visitors to get into the match and at times found themselves having to double-team the in-form Bale who had several surging runs down the left.
Spurs boss Redknapp opted to leave Aaron Lennon on the bench for the crunch game while Ledley King was selected as Michael Dawson's centre-half partner and Younes Kaboul came in for Wilson Palacios.
Trotters boss Owen Coyle stuck with the same side which drew 2-2 with Portsmouth last weekend.
The tense encounter began quite sloppily as neither side could get a strong foothold on the game, however the home side were by far the better in possession.
Action
Manchester United target Luka Modric had a stop-start game but was in the thick of the action when he found a yard of space but dragged his effort wide of the post with five minutes gone.
Kaboul was in fine form down the right as he jinked his way through the Bolton flanks and pulled away from Taylor to cross for Pavlyuchenko, but the Russian mis-kicked his shot inside the box.
News of Aston Villa's opener against Manchester City rang around the Lane as the Tottenham faithful erupted and spurred their side on.
Bale sent the Trotters defence into a spin as they backed off him allowing the Welshman time to cut inside and fire a dangerous shot at Jaaskelainen who saved well.
Paul Robinson entered the book for hacking down David Bentley before Huddlestone's wonder strike.
Assou-Ekotto cut inside from the left and laid the ball off to the midfielder who lashed a powerful shot into the top right-hand corner of the goal for the well-deserved opener.
Kevin Davies spurned a chance to equalise when he blazed over from 25 yards just before the break as Bolton looked to get back into the game.
Dawson was a tower of strength and in inspired form to cut out Taylor's cross and block several Bolton attacks as they looked for an early way back into the match.
Taylor was given a yellow card for pulling back Defoe just before the hour and Huddlestone fancied his chances of doubling his goal tally however he fired a 25-yard curler wide.
Coyle injected a bit of pace and experience into the side as he took off Weiss and Ivan Klasnic and brought on Lee Chung-Yong and Johan Elmander.
Pressure
Gomes reacted quickly to deny Taylor's 25-yard shot in a period of Bolton pressure just before the hour.
Defoe sent a curling shot just wide of Jaaskelainen's right-hand post before Pavlyuchenko had a glorious chance but sent his free header wide.
Bale forced Jaaskelainen to tip his shot wide after racing through down the left as Tottenham piled forward for another goal.
Kaboul then had to clear Taylor's goalbound shot after Gomes was left stranded when he rushed out to try to block Davies' run.
Peter Crouch replaced Defoe and Lennon received a standing ovation as he came on for Bentley to make only his second appearance of 2010.
An inch-perfect volley from Bale skimmed across the box but a lunging Pavlyuchenko failed to reach it for an easy tap-in. Substitute Lee minutes later cleared Crouch's downward header off the line from Bale's cross.
Gomes pulled off a stunning save to deny Taylor's volley from the edge of the box with four minutes left.
Crouch almost grabbed a second in the dying minutes after beating three Bolton defenders before forcing Jaaskelainen into a diving save.
Wilshere received a booking for hacking down Kaboul in added time before substitute Eidur Gudjohnsen fired wide at the death.
Spurs held on for the vital win which means the race for fourth place will be guaranteed if they can beat league rivals Manchester City on Wednesday.
| Tottenham Hotspur |
Team Statistics |
Bolton Wanderers |
| 1 |
Goals |
0 |
| 1 |
1st Half Goals |
0 |
| 5 |
Shots on Target |
2 |
| 11 |
Shots off Target |
5 |
| 4 |
Blocked Shots |
5 |
| 11 |
Corners |
7 |
| 13 |
Fouls |
12 |
| 5 |
Offsides |
3 |
| 0 |
Yellow Cards |
3 |
| 0 |
Red Cards |
0 |
| 76.8 |
Passing Success |
64 |
| 22 |
Tackles |
31 |
| 72.7 |
Tackles Success |
77.4 |
| 54.9 |
Possession |
45.1 |
| 51.7 |
Territorial Advantage |
48.3 |
|
