Cruel, cruel game. Spurs had been heroic for 93 minutes and seemed on their way to a deserved victory. There was one final corner to defend. Nani sent the kick spinning towards the near post, Carlos Tevez and Michael Dawson challenged, the Argentinian got his foot to the ball but Dawson insisted it was his touch that broke his team’s heart. “An own goal,” he lamented afterwards and United had a draw they barely deserved.

What definitely wasn’t deserved was Dawson’s part in the equalising goal because he had excelled. Twenty seconds after the United goal, Mark Clattenburg ended the match and Dawson pulled the front of his No 20 jersey over his head, as if by hiding his face he could shield himself from the reality. There was no need for recrimination because Spurs had played a fine match.

From beginning to end, it was absorbing. Tactically, Spurs knew how to stifle United. By being mindful of their defensive duties, Steed Malbranque and Aaron Lennon ensured Cristiano Ronaldo and Patrice Evra didn’t get an inch and after taking the lead through Dimitar Berbatov 21 minutes into the game, Spurs controlled much of what followed. They had two good chances to kill off their rivals and only in the last 10 minutes did United threaten to score. The late goal was borne of desperation and Sir Alex Ferguson was right to praise his team for battling all the way to the 94th minute.

Every time you watch Spurs now, it is another opportunity to gauge the impact of Juande Ramos. Yesterday’s performance was as impressive as the 5-1 dismantling of Arsenal’s Carling Cup team. It is hard to believe now, but this is the Spurs team that conceded three goals to Fulham, four to Aston Villa and another four to Reading earlier this season. Back then, they knew as much about defending as the cat knows about long division. How well they are learning under a new teacher. Dawson and Jonathan Woodgate were magnificent. For most of the game, Wayne Rooney and Tevez didn’t bother them.

Through the first hour, Spurs hardly gave United a sight of goal. What was most admirable was Spurs’ work ethic. The fittest midfield players run about seven miles through a tough Premier League game but Malbranque, who epitomises Spurs renewed spirit, would have covered that distance and some more yesterday. He is not the most gifted player and certainly not the quickest but against United’s stars, he played like a lion. It doesn’t often happen that a team outpasses Manchester United but that’s what happened yesterday. Tom Huddlestone and Jermaine Jenas outplayed Paul Scholes and Owen Hargreaves and the better chances fell to Spurs. You can hardly argue with Ferguson’s decision to start with Scholes and Hargreaves but against rivals seriously committed to the fight, United could have done with Anderson’s more combative generalship.

One wondered how Ferguson felt about the performance of his compatriot, the Spurs debutant Alan Hutton. The suspicion was that Hutton’s initial reticence to commit to Spurs was to give United every opportunity to put in a counter-bid.

Ferguson must have felt like reaching for the chequebook as he got a close-up of Hutton through yesterday’s opening half. He patrolled the right flank with impressive authority, especially as he’s had just two training sessions with his new teammates.

The opening goal was testimony to Spurs’ excellence on the counter-attack. United had created a half chance for Hargreaves but his shot was blocked by Woodgate, whose first-time clearance was flicked by Robbie Keane into the path of Jenas. Hargreaves made up a lot of ground to get back and tackle the Spurs midfielder, but when the ball broke free, Aaron Lennon picked it up, went round Hargreaves and crossed for Berbatov to score. “I was disappointed we didn’t get back quicker when the attack broke down,” said Ferguson afterwards. Edwin van der Sar thought Jenas handled in the lead-up to the goal and raced to protest, for which he was given a yellow card.

United’s response to the goal was interesting because, initially at least, they did nothing. Spurs looked the more likely team to get the game’s second goal and after Huddlestone, off balance, played the most wonderful pass to Lennon, the winger set up Berbatov who volleyed over the bar. The game’s next-best chance came in the 56th minute when Berbatov picked up a lost cause wide on the left, cut United’s defence to shreds and then put Keane through on goal. The Irish striker mis-hit his shot and United wriggled off the hook.

Eventually they got going and created pressure on the Spurs goal. Radek Cerny beat away a fine Anderson shot and saved a near-post header by Tevez and one corner followed another until Dawson’s destructive late touch.

We waited for Ramos afterwards, many wanting to make the point that a fine performance had not got the result it deserved. “Two points lost?” someone suggested. Ramos’s expression conveyed neither satisfaction nor disappointment. “Unless the referee blows his whistle, the game is not over,” he said. After the passion and intelligence of his team, even this oldest of truisms seemed like the latest wisdom. Perhaps the point was that Ramos isn’t looking for gallant draws.

Star man: Steed Malbranque (Tottenham)

Player ratings: Tottenham: Cerny 7, Chimbonda 7, Dawson 7, Woodgate 7, Hutton 7, Lennon 7 (Boateng 79min), Jenas 7, Huddlestone 7, Malbranque 8, Berbatov 7, Keane 6 (O’Hara 90min)
Manchester United: Van der Sar 6, Brown 5, Ferdinand 6, Vidic 6, Evra 6, Ronaldo 5, Hargreaves 5 (Carrick ht 5), Scholes 5 (Anderson 60min, 6), Giggs 4 (Nani 60min, 6), Rooney 6, Tevez 6

Scorers: Spurs: Berbatov 21. Manchester Utd: Tevez 90

Yellow cards: Tottenham: Woodgate, Huddlestone, Cerny Manchester United: Van der Sar, Ronaldo, Brown, Nani, Vidic, Rooney

Referee: M Clattenburg

Attendance: 36,075