Tottenham held 1-1 by late Swansea goal
Tottenham held 1-1 by late Swansea goal
Tottenham missed the chance to close within four points of the Premier League summit.

Swansea: Tottenham missed the chance to close within four points of the Premier League summit after being held to a 1-1 draw by Swansea on Saturday.

Rafael van der Vaart had given third-placed Tottenham the lead just before half-time after capitalizing on a defensive error from Joe Allen to sweep home with the help of a deflection from Ashley Williams.

Swansea had not managed to pick up a single point this season after conceding the first goal, but the hosts bucked the trend when goalkeeper Brad Friedel hesitated when dealing with a late deflected Angel Rangel cross for Scott Sinclair to nip in and equalize.

"It was a sloppy goal," Spurs boss Harry Redknapp said. "One or two of them switched off and we didn't pick up Sinclair, we have let him come in unmarked so it was a catalogue of errors, but that's how it goes."

"It was a tight game, they are a good side, I like the way they play. The way they pass is amazing really."

Tottenham are six points behind Manchester rivals City and United. Swansea, in their first season in the Premier League, reach the New Year with 20 points, five clear of the relegation zone.

"A draw was the least we deserved against a team who, coming into today, were the form team in the country, and one of the best passing teams," manager Brendan Rodgers said.

Tottenham lost influential midfielder Scott Parker to a knee injury with 19 minutes to go, when Spurs were still leading. Redknapp said he was unsure how serious the problem was.

"He has made a massive difference since he came in, we haven't lost many when he has played," Redknapp said. "I think only once he has been on the losing team, he has been that important."

Another promoted side produced a late equalizer, with substitute Simeon Jackson rescuing a 1-1 draw for Norwich against Fulham, canceling out Orlando Sa's sixth-minute opener with a stoppage-time goal.

Portugal forward Orlando Sa had netted after just six minutes to put the visitors on course for a rare away win. But Norwich continued to press, and Jackson nodded in Elliott Bennett's right-wing cross five minute into added time to earn Paul Lambert's side a share of the points.

Fulham went ahead when Moussa Dembele was allowed to charge to the edge of the penalty area before feeding Sa, who drilled a low shot past John Ruddy into the bottom right corner.

The home side was almost 2-0 down before they could mount a recovery, with fullback Kyle Naughton clearing an effort from Sa off the line.

The bottom three is made up of Wigan, Blackburn and Bolton.

Sam Ricketts marked his return from a 10-month injury lay-off with a superb goal for Bolton in a 1-1 draw against Wolverhampton Wanderers, who leveled through Steven Fletcher's header.

The fullback was making his first appearance since rupturing an Achilles in February, and gave the hosts the lead with a curling shot into the far corner from 25 yards in the 22nd minute. Stephen Ward sent a hard strike against the crossbar for Wolves before the visitors leveled less than four minutes into the second half when Steven Fletcher headed home Matt Jarvis' free kick.

Bolton had not drawn a league match since February, but it could have been worse as Tuncay's wayward header in front of his own goal was deflected onto the post by Mark Davies.

Ben Watson came off the bench to salvage a 2-2 draw with a late penalty for 10-man Wigan in a dramatic finish against Stoke City.

Victor Moses put the struggling Latics ahead on the stroke of half-time, but Gary Caldwell was then sent off for deliberate handball in the 76th minute and Jonathan Walters converted the resulting penalty to draw eighth-placed Stoke level.

Stoke thought they had secured three points when substitute Cameron Jerome scored, but Watson then converted a spot-kick with his first touch, after Ryan Shotton had been penalized for a tug on Hugo Rodallega's shirt.

Robert Huth saw another header fly wide in the final minutes, while appeals for a second Stoke penalty were waved away after Ryan Shawcross took a tumble in stoppage time.

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