The Tottenham manager Harry Redknapp felt his team had claimed a crucial win after Jonathan Woodgate's late goal secured three points at Hull on Monday night. Woodgate headed home with five minutes remaining as Spurs snatched a 2-1 victory in a scrappy but entertaining Barclays Premier League contest at the KC Stadium. The win eased Spurs' anxieties in the bottom half of the table and got their Carling Cup final week off to a fine start.
Spurs are now just a point behind Hull and five points above the relegation zone. Redknapp said: "If they'd have won I think they'd have been out of it but it's kept them in it. "We're back in the pack again and that's important." Redknapp admitted Hull, who cancelled out Aaron Lennon's superb opener through Michael Turner, had made life tough. "It was always going to be difficult," he said. "They are difficult to play against.
"They have played a direct game and were dangerous on set plays. "I thought second half we got the ball down and passed it and we were much the better team." Redknapp, however, admitted he was unhappy with his side's schedule. Spurs must play again against Shakhtar Donetsk in the UEFA Cup on Thursday before Sunday's Wembley date with Manchester United. He said: "I hear people criticising that I have rested players, but tonight was the all-important game.
"Whoever heard of you playing Thursday night before playing a cup final at the weekend? "People have been in cup finals over the years, you don't play Thursday night. You go away for two or three days and have a rest. "The whole fixture list is crazy." Woodgate needed stitches in a head wound towards the end of the game but Redknapp was not overly concerned. "He's a tough nut, I don't see him not playing at Wembley," he said.
Hull boss Phil Brown felt his side, who have now won only once in 17 league games, had been down on their luck. He said: "It is a tough one. I don't think we deserved to lose the game. "Maybe their experience won it as opposed to our inexperience. "The winning goal typified what teams are capable of doing. "Anthony Gardner comes out of the back four and the ball is played into the area where he should be.
"Defensively, we have got to learn. The inexperience at this level is hurting us." Brown felt there were plenty of positives to take into this weekend's six-pointer against Blackburn. "I thought in the first half we were the better team," he added. "We went a goal behind and showed character to come back. "The turning point was Kamil Zayatte hitting the post and it coming out as opposed to going in."
*PA Sport