Villa surge shocks Spurs

Iversen gave Spurs the lead - but it was not to be their day

Tottenham 2-4 Aston Villa

It was enough to give stricken Tottenham manager George Graham a relapse as Aston Villa surged back from two goals down to inflict more anguish on suffering Spurs.

Villa scored an amazing four goals in 11 minutes, sparked by a bizarre 62nd-minute penalty incident at White Hart Lane.

Spurs, without a win now in five games, were coasting home against the FA Cup finalists after Steffen Iversen headed his 17th goal of the season in only the 16th minute and Chris Armstrong added a second two minutes into the second half.

Match facts

16 mins - Iverson puts Spurs ahead

47 mins - Chris Armstrong doubles the lead

61 mins - Dublin scores the first of his two goals

70 mins - Carbone volleys Spurs ahead

71 mins - Wright wraps it up

But just as coach Stewart Houston must have been preparing news of a get-well-soon winning message for the hospitalised Graham, everything went pear-shaped for the Londoners.

Dion Dublin, in only his fifth game back from breaking a bone in his neck in December, notched the first of a devastating double from the spot after referee Rob Harris initially turned down his protests that Iversen had handled his shot just after the hour mark.

Villa eventually persuaded Harris to consult a linesman, who clearly told him it was indeed a penalty, and then it was Tottenham's turn to berate the officials.

Dublin makes his mark in the match

In the middle of all the wrangling Spurs Argentinian full-back Mauricio Taricco went down, unseen by Harris, from an apparent blow by Villa's Ugo Ehiogu.

But Dublin kept his head among all the mayhem and slotted the penalty home for his 14th goal of this injury-punctuated season, and as Tottenham crumbled he soon added a 15th with an acrobatic hook from Benito Carbone's cross.

The rest was just pure misery for Tottenham and after Carbone thumped Villa in front from Dublin's assist and Alan Wright smacked in the fourth from a loose ball when the big striker challenged Sol Campbell in an aerial duel, the disgruntled home fans vented their frustrations with a ripe old burst of "we want Sugar out" directed at the chairman.

Teams:

Tottenham: Walker, Carr, Perry, Campbell, Taricco, Clemence, Freund, Anderton, Ginola, Iversen, Armstrong. Subs: Baardsen, Korsten, Scales, Young, Etherington.

Aston Villa: James, Ehiogu, Barry, Samuel, Watson, Boateng, Merson, Thompson, Wright, Dublin, Carbone. Subs: Enckelman, Walker, Ghent, Delaney, Bewers.

Referee: R Harris (Oxford)