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On Tuesday evening in the English Premier League, two matches took place, in which the hosts only managed to defeat the visitors after a dramatic battle at the end of the matches. Charlton defeated Blackburn 1-0 at their home ground, while Tottenham beat Middlesbrough 2-1.
The crisis-hit Charlton club finally secured a victory, allowing them to move from last place to second to last, 19th place.
The hosts in the match against Blackburn played actively from the very first minutes and created many chances, which they were unable to capitalize on. Finally, the underdogs had luck on their side in extra time when Moroccan player Talal El Karkouri scored a goal from about 18 meters away.
This was Charlton's first victory with new manager Les Reed, who replaced the dismissed Ian Dowie in mid-November.
Middlesbrough, unable to win away against Tottenham since 2002, failed to break the tradition this time as well. It seems that Tottenham's White Hart Lane stadium has become a fortress for the team – the team currently sitting in 10th place in the table this season has won 19 out of 22 points here.
From the very first minutes of the match, the hosts created a sauna on the field for the visitors, but even with 13 shots on goal in the first half, they did not score.
Immediately after the break, in the 48th minute, Dimitar Berbatov finally scored a goal. The Bulgarian, receiving a pass from Tom Huddlestone from the side, shot past the opponent's goalkeeper, Mark Schwarzer, from just a few meters away.
After repelling several dangerous opponent attacks, Middlesbrough began trying to equalize. After missing a great chance by Julio Arca (the ball narrowly missed the post), later it was the turn of the plant-like German defender Roberto Huth – his shot from the penalty area was accurate.
Tottenham had no intention of giving up. After a few minutes, Robbie Keane scored the second goal with a great shot from 25 meters, which turned out to be the decisive goal.
At the end of the match, both teams' players, Didier Zokora and George Boateng, received red cards for the scuffle.
Results:
1 – 0 90’ [1 – 0] Talal El Karkuori
2 – 1 48’ [1 – 0] Dimitar Berbatov 80’ [1 – 1] Robert Huth 84’ [2 – 1] Robbie Keane
87’ George Boateng (Middlesbrough), 88’ Didier Zokora (Tottenham) sent off
