DAVID BENTLEY was denied a deserved penalty in the 82nd minute that might have earned Blackburn Rovers a winning goal and bolstered their challenge for a place in the Intertoto Cup. But their belated entry into this match might have yielded a victory for Tottenham, who took the lead through a dubious goal scored by Dimitar Berbatov, and only Brad Friedel’s solid work in goal for Blackburn allowed his teammates to find a way back into the game.

Having equalised, they might have won it when Bentley was clearly fouled as he charged into the penalty area late in the game. Tottenham substitute Gilberto blatantly stood in his way, making no attempt to play the ball, which Bentley had deftly tapped around him, but referee Peter Walton waved play on.

Tottenham appeared ready to pack up for a summer holiday during the 4-1 defeat by Newcastle last Sunday, so a proven winner such as Juande Ramos, their manager, would have expected an immediate and positive reaction. Paul Robinson’s omission was nothing to do with the haemorrhage of goals against Newcastle, for the goalkeeper had been unable to train all week owing to an ankle injury. But £16.5m flop Darren Bent, Jamie O’Hara and Tom Huddlestone were all dropped, with Radek Cerny, Pascal Chimbonda, Jermaine Jenas and Aaron Lennon replacing them.

For Blackburn, manager Mark Hughes made only two changes, giving former AC Milan midfielder Johann Vogel a debut to replace the injured David Dunn and Christopher Samba came into defence for Zurab Khizanishvili.

An early free kick floated into the penalty area by Jenas found Samba and Ryan Nelsen asleep in the middle but Michael Dawson’s header was no test for Friedel. But when the Rovers defence remained in their slumber Spurs took advantage soon enough.

Chimbonda, overlapping productively on the left flank, slipped the ball inside to Steed Malbranque, whose swift and measured pass to Jenas opened up the Blackburn rearguard.

Jenas had timed his run into the left side of the penalty area to perfection, though Berbatov, on the right side, did not and only an erroneous decision by the assistant referee prevented the Bulgarian striker from being flagged offside. He was left with a simple tap-in once Jenas squared the ball and Blackburn were left asking serious questions about themselves as well as the officials.

Malbranque and Jenas were able to direct play with impunity, so lacking were Blackburn in commitment to the tackle. Berbatov might have scored a second goal when Malbranque played him through the middle but Friedel stayed upright and saved with his legs.

All of a sudden, though, Blackburn came to life when Steven Reid played the ball to his right, where Bentley was ready to pounce near the touchline. If Fabio Capello, the England coach, required any more evidence as to why the Blackburn midfielder can offer more to the country’s cause than David Beckham, here it was. His first touch with his right foot was brilliant, taking him around Chimbonda, and his ability to pick a pass unlocked the Tottenham defence in an instant. A low, right-footed cross arrived at Pedersen’s feet and the Norwegian despatched his simple shot ruthlessly. Beckham still has the edge over Bentley from dead-ball situations, though he did make Cerny move quickly across his goal to save a free kick from almost 30 yards.

Friedel, as ever, was a reliable figure for Blackburn, stopping a powerful 25-yard half-volley from Berbatov at the start of the second half before he made a top-class save from Malbranque.

Rovers were unable to retain possession well enough in the second half to utilise Bentley’s quality and his frustration was evident when he shot hopefully and wide from almost 30 yards on one of the few occasions that the ball came to him. But going it alone almost paid off for Bentley in the final 10 minutes when he took the ball past Lennon and touched the ball beyond Gilberto, who blocked his path, only for the referee to dismiss his genuine penalty claim.

He managed to fire a free kick over the wall a minute later but Cerny made a straightforward save to preserve the stalemate.

Berbatov had gone closest to creating another chance for Tottenham when he delivered a penetrating cross into the box from the left but Vogel made intervened and cleared with Keane on his shoulder.

Roque Santa Cruz made one last bid to earn a decisive goal when he beat Didier Zokora on the edge of the penalty area but, from an acute angle, his shot was saved by Cerny.

Player ratings:Blackburn: Friedel 8, Ooijer 6 (Emerton ht, 6), Samba 6, Nelsen 7, Warnock 6, Bentley 7, Reid 6 (Mokoena 86min), Vogel 6, Pedersen 6 (McCarthy 73min), Santa-Cruz 6, Roberts 6.

Tottenham:Cerny 7, Hutton 7, Dawson 6, Woodgate 7, Chimbonda 6 (Gilberto 72min), Lennon 6, Jenas 8, Zokora 6, Malbranque 7 (Huddlestone 72min), Berbatov 7, Keane 6 (Bent 78min)