Aston Villa took another huge step towards Premier League survival on Saturday afternoon by seeing off Tottenham Hotspur 1-0 at White Hart Lane.
Christian Benteke's goal after 35 minutes proved the difference between the sides, with chances in North London few and far between throughout.
Villa came closest to finding the game's second goal shortly before the half-time interval when Gabriel Agbonlahor struck the post, but in the end it mattered little as Tim Sherwood came back to haunt his former suitors.
Here, Sports Mole takes a closer look at how the 90 minutes of action unfolded.
Match statistics
Tottenham Hotspur
Shots: 14
On target: 3
Possession: 60%
Corners: 9
Fouls: 11
Aston Villa
Shots: 10
On target: 3
Possession: 40%
Corners: 6
Fouls: 10
Was the result fair?
The slender scoreline may suggest that this game remained tight throughout, although in truth Villa never truly looked all that troubled at the back. That says more about Tottenham than their opponents, with Mauricio Pochettino's men seeing their slim hopes of finishing inside the top four surely fading away for good this afternoon.
Clear-cut chances were kept to a minimum, Spurs seeing their best opening full to Danny Rose in the first half, who failed to get the better of Brad Guzan. In fact, it was the visitors who should have extended their lead and made things all that more comfortable with the aid of a second goal, but Agbonlahor's shot came back off the upright, while Fabian Delph failed to convert when played through one-on-one.
Tottenham Hotspur's performance
It is fair to say that any momentum Tottenham had at one stage this year has now well and truly gone. That perhaps coincided with the 3-0 reverse at Manchester United last month, which has been followed up by just four points from a possible nine against three sides battling relegation.
Harry Kane cut a frustrated figure throughout, feeding off scraps for 90 minutes, while an unsettled backline clearly did not help things. Federico Fazio was thrown in for his first start in over two months due to Jan Vertonghen's illness and Kyle Walker's prolonged injury. Benteke completely outjumped his marker for the game's decisive moment, leaving stand-in stopper Michel Vorm with little chance, although it would be harsh to shove the blame on the defence.
It can be put down simply as being one of those days where things just do not click, although this performance will worry Tottenham supporters a little due to the stagnant play which had no real direction to it. Pochettino must now tick off the fixtures towards the end of the season, but his biggest challenge to date will come in the summer when he puts a deeper mark on this side to make it his own.
Aston Villa's performance
Villa's gameplan was clear to see in the opening quarter of the game, as they attempted to hit Spurs on the break with the aid of Benteke up top. The Belgian won eight aerial duels in the first half alone, highlighting just how important he is to this side. Today marks just a third win in 18 outings for the Villans, with this arguably being the pick of the bunch due to its nature.
Sherwood will no doubt play down the importance of the win coming on his former hunting ground, but he failed to hide his delight as the full-time whistle finally blew after seven minutes of added time. The West Midlands outfit now find themselves six points clear of the bottom three, and while they have played at least a game more than those around them, it is highly unlikely that they will face the drop this season.
This was a solid team performance all-round, from Guzan in goal who provided a dominant figure when collecting crosses, right through to Agbonlahor and Benteke, whose partnership up top has really come to life in recent times. Injuries picked up by Ciaran Clark and Agbonlahor leaves a little blight on the result, as does the needless red card picked up by Carlos Sanchez, but Villa supporters will be delighted as they head back home with maximum points from their travels for the fifth time this season.
Sports Mole's man of the match
Christian Benteke: His link-up play with Agbonlahor caused Spurs some real problems, and he proved to be the team's focal point throughout the game. It was his brilliant header which earns him this award, however, having outjumped his man and directed the ball off the far post to ultimately win the game for Villa.
Biggest gaffe
Just one minute of added time remained on the clock when Sanchez lunged in on Rose to not only concede a free kick in his own half but also leave his side down to 10 men for the remainder. It could prove costly in the long term due to Villa's small squad, although this win should just about see them through until the end of the campaign without too many problems.
Referee performance
Mark Clattenburg barely got a mention throughout, which can only be a good thing. There was a moment at the end when things looked like they might boil over a little, but the experienced official handled the situation well, while he was left with little choice but to dismiss Sanchez a few minutes prior to that aforementioned incident.
What next?
Tottenham Hotspur: A trip north to St James' Park awaits the Lilywhites next weekend, but all their focus is now simply on edging out Liverpool for fifth place.
Aston Villa: Sherwood will be happy to put league matters to one side for the next week as his side prepare for an FA Cup semi-final meeting with Liverpool. That is followed up by a trip to fallen champions Manchester City.
Daniel Lewis
