TOTTENHAM 0 LIVERPOOL 1

Team of the day:
Reina, Aurelio, Carragher, Agger, Finnan, Riise, Gerrard (captain), Alonso, Garcia, Bellamy, Kuyt.
Subs - Martin, Gonzalez, Crouch, Pennant, Paletta

liverpoolfc.tv reports..

It's the Reds third Premiership away win of the season and it was a hard fought three points after they battled against Spurs and the vicious rain to defend the one goal lead given to them by Luis Garcia on the stroke of half time.

Tottenham had won their last 12 home games before today so the Reds knew to expect a tough game, but they started well and threatened when Dirk Kuyt almost capitalised on a poor back pass.

Despite their good start, Liverpool could have found themselves behind in the 11th minute when Mido had a great chance, but they were grateful to see the Egyptian striker blaze over with only Reina to beat.

It was a tight first half, but it was the Reds who were creating the better chances and Craig Bellamy forced England goalkeeper Paul Robinson into a good save in 27th minute. And Dirk Kuyt's curled effort beat Robinson just a minute later before it finished agonisingly the wrong side of the post.

But as the referee was about the blow for half time, Liverpool took a lead that on the balance of play they deserved when Luis Garcia scored in the 45th minute. It came when Gerrard directed the ball goalwards with his head and Garcia was in the right place at far post to prod home left footed under Robinson's body.

It almost got better for the Reds at the start of the second half when Bellamy's endeavour gave him a shooting chance that was saved, but that was to be his last act of the match because a suspected injury meant he had to be replaced by Pennant just a minute later.

Spurs manager Martin Jol made some tactical changes on the hour mark when he brought ex-Red Danny Murphy and Dimitar Berbatov on, but Liverpool remained the most likely to score and Garcia came close to a second when heading Finnan's cross wide.

Heavy rain in North London was making conditions difficult for defenders and goalkeepers and Reina had a nervous moment in the 59th minute when the wet ball slipped from his hands, but there were no Spurs attackers around to take advantage.

Tottenham came breathtakingly close to equalizing soon after when Steve Finnan deflected the ball against his own crossbar when trying to clear. But in truth, the biggest danger to Liverpool's lead was the torrential rain that fell on White Hart Lane in the second half.

The Reds hung on to their lead though and they will head home battered, bruised and wet after an all action display. But most importantly, they head home with the points.

Rafa's comments..

"I thought it was a fantastic team performance," said the Reds' manager. "When you lose a game like we did at Blackburn then you want to see character from your players and we had that today.

"We played well in the first half and scored at a very good time, just before the break. In the second period Tottenham played more long balls and put us under pressure, but the work rate of the side was first class.

"The defenders dug in, Xabi played well in front of them, the midfielders tackled and fought and Kuyt and Bellamy worked for every minute they were playing.

"We knew before the game that the result would be important because Tottenham were close to us in the table and we wanted to stay ahead of them.

"We have lost many away games this season despite having more attempts than our opponents. Maybe today was the game where we didn't quite have as many opportunities but still managed to win the match."

Benitez revealed Craig Bellamy was substituted early in the second half as a precaution after feeling a tightness in his hamstring and that Jerzy Dudek wasn't included because his wife gave birth last night.

louis' comments..

a typical luis garcia goal gave us our 3rd away win. it's hard-fought game under the pouring rain. tottenham just couldn't break our liverpool wall of defence. a good win and it's good to bounce back from our defeat at Edwood Park.

as usual in games recently, we dominated the game. patient passing around the field, hence, frustrated tottenham as well as their home fans. the build-up was nice and you could see the players have been training hard for all these set pieces and situations. bellamy and kuyt worked hard upfront, alonso and gerrard were disciplined in the middle. there's one player who i really wish to praise was steve finnan.

being a right back, part of our heart of defence, he defended really well. besides heading the ball against the crossbar, he was flawless. his overlapping gave tottenham lots of troubles and his crossing? can be matched to a right-winger. good control on the ball, no nonsense player and does his job week in week out. no wonder jan kromkamp went back to holland.

luis garcia was fast enough to capitalise the loose ball in the penalty area and striked home the winner. he played well and had some tricks in his sleeves all the time. though he tend to lose the ball easily, but i do like him a player. creative player and scores crucial goals for us. still remember the strikes against juventus and chelsea in the fa cup semi final.

alonso was excellent. his passing and vision were flawless. read the game very well. intercepted many balls in mifield from tottenham mifield. very important player for us. we can't afford to lose him if we have to do well in any competitions.

defensively awesome. finnan, carragher, agger and riise. these four played to their best and defended like there's no tommorrow. carragher was great to keep defoe, mido and later berbatov quiet. excellent display of defending and hence, we kept our clean sheet and had our 3 points.

next game it will be bolton. it's a very important match if we want to stay up on the table. bolton has been good form especially nicholas anelka who once played for us. nevertheless, it's at anfield and opposition teams have to worry when they visit us.

a good job done at white hart lane. let's look forward for next..

you'll never walk alone.

cheers.