Aston Villa 1-1 Tottenham Hotspur

Tottenham failed to capitalise on Arsenal's slip in the race for third as they have to come from behind to draw with Aston Villa.

Both teams needed points, with Villa battling to regain their top-flight status and Spurs dreaming of that third-place finish, and it was Alex McLeish's strugglers who had the first golden opportunity. Veteran striker Emile Heskey was put through by Stephen Ireland but he lacked any conviction or confidence and it allowed Younes Kaboul to get back and tackle him. For most of the first half it was Spurs attacking and Villa holding out, but the home side took a surprise lead on 34 minutes thanks to Ciaran Clark. The midfielder took a shot from all of 35 yards that hit the head of William Gallas and the deflection bemused Brad Friedel, who could only watch as the ball nestled in his net. Staunch defending from Villa - and a wonderful save from Shay Given to stop a powerful Gareth Bale effort - ensured they held that lead at half-time and then on 48 minutes things looked even brighter for McLeish's men as Danny Rose was given a straight red card for a two-footed, high and ugly tackle on Alan Hutton. Spurs managed to continue going forward despite the numerical disadvantage and they pulled level on 62 minutes after Richard Dunne brought down Sandro in the box. Emmanuel Adebayor stepped up to rifle the ball past Given to pull the scores level and from that point on Spurs continued to attack, only to be met by a committed wall of claret and blue in front of them. Harry Redknapp's side couldn't find a second, while Dunne came close to making amends for giving away the penalty when his header went just wide on 76 minutes, despite having most of the possession and territory. For Villa this point could be valuable in avoiding the drop, but for Spurs it means they stay behind Arsenal and need help from elsewhere on the final day of the season if they want to get that third spot.