Heurelho Gomes' latest howler gifted the Tangerines the lead at White Hart Lane. Moments after saving Charlie Adam's first penalty, the former PSV Eindhoven goalkeeper suffered a rush of blood to the head to barge over Gary Taylor-Fletcher in the box to give the Scot his second opportunity from the spot. He did not miss, and Spurs seemed destined for only their second home league defeat of the season.
Defoe spared the goalkeeper's blushes as he fired home with under two minutes left, but in reality the draw will mean little if anything to Harry Redknapp, who takes his team to Eastlands on Tuesday with a six-point gap behind Manchester City with three matches left.
Gomes' error will also lead to more questions about his future. The White Hart Lane faithful were quick to heed Redknapp's call to rally round their number one after last week's mistake, but they are likely to not be so forgiving this time. Blackpool fought well for the draw and had chances to claim all three points, but they will be satisfied with the point that edges them out of the relegation zone.
Defoe had the ball in the net 35 minutes in but he was rightly ruled out for offside after being played in by Rafael van der Vaart, while Spurs were also hit by the withdrawal of Gareth Bale, who went off after being sandwiched by two tackles from Adam and Keith Southern.
Source: PA
Source: PA