Tottenham Hotspur grabbed a vital 3-2 away victory over Middlesbrough to remain in pursuit for the UEFA Cup spot next season. Spurs occupy eighth place in the Premiership table on 53 points and one game in hand, five adrift of fifth-placed Bolton. Egypt midfielder Hossam Ghaly started for Spurs before being substituted in the 71st minute by Aaron Lennon, while his compatriot Ahmed Hossam 'Mido' did not show up. Tottenham's on-fire striker Robbie Keane opened the scoring in the 12th minute after being set up by his magnificent strike partner Dimitar Berbatov. Ghaly provided the second for Berbatov two minutes after the break and the Bulgarian hit man unleashed a superb cracking volley to double the lead. Mark Viduka pulled one back for Boro after 66 minutes, but the in-form Keane made it eight goals in five Premiership games for his name when he added a third seven minutes from time after good work from Lennon. Emmanuel Pogatetz's 89th minute goal was just a consolation for the home side who were unlucky to be denied several times by Spurs keeper Paul Robinson. Elsewhere, West ham and Sheffield United registered crucial victories in their fight against relegation, while Wigan and Charlton suffered massive defeats in the process. The Hammers jumped to 18th place after thrashing relegation rivals Wigan 3-0 at home to level on 35 points, but Wigan occupy 17th spot on goal difference. While Sheffield edged 1-0 past the already-relegated Watford to move clear to 15th place on 38 points, with no signs again for the Blades' Egyptian defender Ahmed Fathi. Charlton suffered a thumping 4-1 defeat at Blackburn Rovers to slip to second from bottom with 33 points.
