Having swept aside Manchester City in midweek, Tottenham gave further confirmation of their credentials as a top-four side with a victory against the grain at Blackburn to sober up any celebrations planned to mark Sam Allardyce’s first anniversary as manager.

This was only Blackburn’s third defeat at Ewood Park in Allardyce’s 12 months at the helm and it owed everything to Peter Crouch’s finishing, which emphasised his value as a centre-forward in the air and on the ground.

The first, on the very stroke of half-time, should perhaps have been prevented. Crouch was the only Tottenham player in the Blackburn box and was surrounded by three defenders when he met Niko Kranjcar’s high, looping header. The ball bounced down from the crossbar, struck the post and ended up in the back of the net.

That was just about Tottenham’s only meaningful attack of the first half and you could say the same about their second, utterly decisive goal. Jermaine Jeanas was falling to earth when his pass found Crouch, who had the kind of time and space in the area that might have panicked a younger forward but his finishing was as icily cool as the conditions. But for an offside flag when he met Aaron Lennon’s cross, Crouch would have had his second hat-trick of the season and taken his tally of goals to 11.

The result may have been hard on Blackburn but despite their possession only Benni McCarthy was in Crouch’s class as a finisher. The South African struck the top of the bar with a deflected free-kick in the first half and was denied an equaliser in the second when Heurelho Gomes deflected his shot on to the foot of the post.

Premier LeagueBlackburn RoversTottenham HotspurTim Richguardian.co.uk