Laursen Punishes Spurs' Set-piece Calamities

Back to the training ground for Tottenham Hotspur and there are no prizes for guessing what Juande Ramos has in store for his players. Having conceded three goals against Reading from set pieces, Spurs again demonstrated their embarrassing inability to deal with dead-ball situations as Olof Mellberg, heading in from an Ashley Young free-kick, and Martin Laursen, nodding home Gareth Barry's corner, punished the visitors' benign defending.

It was an outcome which Aston Villa merited but Tottenham, having roused from their first-half torpor, might easily have gleaned a point. Jermain Defoe, a player whom Martin O'Neill has long courted, swept an acrobatic volley beyond Scott Carson in the 79th minute after Michael Dawson's cross caused consternation in the Villa area. Ramos must have thought his bold substitutions had brought reward but instead the Spurs manager was undone in familiar fashion.

This had been a difficult opening half for Ramos to digest. The six goals plundered against Reading on Saturday had taken the breath away but there were other reasons for the Spaniard to gasp here. Villa were dominant initially, the home team creating all the chances in a first half that finally yielded a breakthrough with four minutes remaining. The goalscorer, Mellberg, might have been a surprise but the same could not be said for the source.

Having marked space rather than players against Reading, Tottenham were once again undone by a dead ball. Young's inswinging free-kick into the six-yard box was threatening but there could be no excuse for the freedom that Mellberg was afforded in the six-yard box. The Swede, heading past the stranded Paul Robinson, almost seemed embarrassed to take advantage. Ramos might have been furious with the marking yet he could have no complaints with the scoreline.

Villa's lead was thoroughly deserved because Luke Moore, spinning adroitly but squirting his shot wide from eight yards, and Laursen, horribly blazing over from the same distance in the 24th minute, had wasted wonderful opportunities to punish Spurs' lethargy earlier in the half. There was no sign that the visitors were capable of turning the tide as Gabriel Agbonlahor's searing pace up front provided an outlet which Villa were keen to exploit at every opportunity.

How Dawson must have regretted his decision to declare himself fit. The central defender has been suffering from a migraine in recent weeks and this was no fixture to deliver a remedy. Agbonlahor was too strong and too quick for him, the Villa forward's willingness to run the channels and make the most of his electric speed causing unease time and again. Clattering Agbonlahor into the advertisement hoardings was all Dawson could do.

Younes Kaboul, struggling with an ankle injury and also exposed by Villa's ability to break, was no more comfortable. Rare periods of possession, when Spurs retained the ball but showed little sign of penetration, provided respite. There was even of a glimpse of goal for the visitors in the 44th minute but Dimitar Berbatov, whose body language was once again bordering on suicidal, struck a powerful right-foot drive straight at Carson.

Ramos's dissatisfaction was clear - within 12 minutes of the restart the Tottenham manager had made his full quota of substitutions. Kevin-Prince Boateng, who had failed to track Mellberg on the opening goal, was withdrawn along with the ineffective Aaron Lennon and the hapless Kaboul. The improvement was immediate and striking, with Robbie Keane and Jamie O'Hara both threatening.

It was now Villa's turn to retreat. With Robbie Keane loitering behind Berbatov and Defoe, there was an extra body in the central area, preventing Nigel Reo-Coker and Barry from controlling the midfield with the same ease. Tottenham, though, continued to lack a ruthless touch and it was Villa, through Moore, who came close again. Stilian Petrov's low cross implored the striker to touch home but he somehow sliced wide from six yards.

Three minutes later Berbatov swept a reverse ball into the Villa area which picked out Keane's run. With Curtis Davies committed to going to ground, the Spurs striker dummied the defender and appeared to be fouled. Steve Tanner, the referee, waved away the appeals but Defoe made sure the reprieve was only temporary. It should have been the final act but Laursen had other ideas.

Man of the match Gabriel Agbonlahor (Aston Villa)