Tottenham's Defoe denies Sven top-four position

Defoe achieved more in six minutes than the man he replaced, Darren Bent, had managed in the previous 78.

Yes, Spurs had a man advantage when Defoe fired home from eight yards after Stephen Ireland was rightly dismissed for a shocking two-footed tackle on Young-Pyo Lee.

But his goal proved just what a clinical finisher Defoe remains, his strike lifting Spurs to 13th — the highest position they have achieved since September 1.

Juande Ramos opted for Bent in place of the suspended Robbie Keane. But one suspects that Defoe will get the nod when Spurs travel to Portsmouth next Saturday.

Ramos insisted there is no pecking order among his strikers but, with Dimitar Berbatov regaining his form, surely Defoe remains a much better foil for the Bulgarian than Bent in the absence of Keane.

"For me there isn't a one, two, three or four," insisted Ramos of his strike force. "Any two can play each game and two have to sit it out. He will get more opportunities because we only have three strikers at the moment. There are more minutes to share around."

Given the chances Spurs had in the opening 20 minutes, they could quite easily have been three ahead of City. Chief tormentor was Berbatov, looking very much his old self, linking play with a beautiful array of deft touches.

But, having twice set up Bent, the former Charlton man was guilty of the kind of wayward finished that has dogged him all season. The other opportunity fell to Steed Malbranque, who saw his goalbound effort cannon off Richard Dunne for a corner.

Having weathered the early storm, City started to cause Spurs problems on the counter. That said, Paul Robinson was hardly troubled, with Kelvin Etuhu's strike into the side netting being the visitors best chance of the half.

But, with City's smothering tactics beginning to stifle Spurs, the home side had a triple slice of fortune less than a minute before the break.

Berbatov won a free-kick that should not have been given on the left of City's 18-yard box after referee Mark Halsey deemed Gelson Fernandes had impeded the Spurs striker with his arm.

Jermaine Jenas took the resulting free-kick, driving the ball hard and low into the box. Berbatov back-heeled in the direction of the net, but it was Pascal Chimbonda, clearly in an offside position, who turned the ball past Andreas Isaksson, seemingly with his forearm.

City boss Sven Goran Eriksson preferred to remain philosophical about the catalogue of refereeing errors. "We will be lucky with decisions in the future — maybe we were not today," said the Swede.

With City creating little, Eriksson was forced to turn to £8.8million flop Rolando Bianchi after the break. And, inside three minutes of coming on, the Italian had put his side back on level terms. Bent lost Bianchi, allowing him to power Martin Petrov's corner past a helpless Robinson.

The equaliser got City on the front foot and hearts were in mouths all around White Hart Lane as the visitors pressed for a winner.

A moment of madness from Ireland handed the advantage back to Spurs. There was nothing harmless, though, about his studs-up challenge on Lee — the South Korean lucky to escape serious injury.

Referee Halsey had no hesitation in producing the red card. And, if Ireland is ever learn the error of his ways, the fact that Spurs scored their winner a minute after his dismissal should serve as an abject lesson to the City midfielder.

Eriksson said: "When I saw it from the bench I thought it was harsh. Looking at it in dressing room, I don't think we should complain about it — just accept. We suffered from it, the player will suffer from it. It shouldn't happen. The tackle was not a nice one."

There was something in the air that suggested that Defoe was the man to get his team out of trouble. And it came as no surprise when the England striker secured the points.

Dawson jumped to avoid Malbranque's driven cross, which in turn cannoned off the far post straight to the feet of Defoe who finished albeit with a heavy deflection off the legs of Micah Richards.

Eriksson, of course, famously left Defoe out of his England squad for the 2006 World Cup. 'It was a long, long time ago,' recalled Eriksson. 'Of course Defoe is a good player.' His winner should also have convinced Ramos of that fact.