Tottenham Hotspur's Steed Malbranque challenges Reading's Steve Sidwell (foreground) during their English Premier League soccer match at White Hart Lane in London, yesterday. - Reuters
LONDON (AP):
Robbie Keane scored from the penalty spot late in the first half yesterday to give Tottenham a 1-0 win over Reading in the English Premier League.
Tottenham were given the spot kick after Greg Halford handled the ball in the area in the 39th minute. Keane scored a minute later.
"It hit his hand but my players are saying the referee shook his head and then gave it, in almost an apologetic way," Reading manager Steve Coppell said. "We feel a little bit hard done but when you analyse it, we shouldn't."
Reading goalkeeper Marcus Hahnemann stopped Tottenham from scoring more goals on several occasions, making a series of good saves.
"I don't think it was only about the penalty as we created 15 chances," Tottenham manager Martin Jol said. "We had three chances in the first 15 minutes with Steed Malbranque, Robbie Keane and Dimitar Berbatov all having one-on-ones with the keeper.
"They had three chances over the whole 90 minutes, and so I think our win was well deserved," Jol added.
Leroy Lita nearly gave Reading the lead in the first half when his header hit the post.
Tottenham moved into sixth place with 48 points, while Reading stayed in eighth place with 44 points. Everton, however, can reclaim sixth by beating Aston Villa today.
Tottenham are also in the quarter-finals of the Champions League and play at defending champion Sevilla on Thursday in the first leg.
On Saturday, Manchester United rallied to beat Blackburn 4-1, and Chelsea got an injury-time goal from Salomon Kalou to beat last-place Watford 1-0.
Paul Scholes, Michael Carrick, Park Ji-sung and Ole Gunnar Solksjaer scored for United. The Red Devils lead the league with 78 points and are on course for their first league title since 2003.
Two-time defending champion Chelsea is next with 72 points, followed by Liverpool with 57. The Reds beat fourth-place Arsenal 4-1, with Peter Crouch scoring three goals.
Also, it was: Bolton 1, Sheffield United 0; Charlton 1, Wigan 0; Fulham 1, Portsmouth 1; Newcastle 0, Manchester City 1; and West Ham 2, Middlesbrough 0.
Birmingham moved into second place in the League Championship after beating Coventry 3-0. Radhi Jaidi scored with a header in the first half and D.J. Campbell added two more goals in the second half.
The win gives Birmingham 74 points in English soccer's second division, two less than leaders Derby.
