Robbie Keane claimed a Spurs fightback to earn a 4-4 draw with Aston Villa felt as good as a win after a night in which manager Martin Jol came within half an hour of the sack.
That was how long there was to play when Villa opened up a 4-1 lead, but a Pascal Chimbonda strike and a Keane penalty set the stage for Younes Kaboul to snatch an 92nd-minute equalizer in what may come to be seen as a turning point in Tottenham's season.
"To come back from 4-1 down is unbelievable," Keane said after an unbelievable night of drama at White Hart Lane on the club's 125th birthday.
PHOTO: EPA
"You talk about dead and buried, but we showed lots of character. That's what we have in this team. When you're 4-1 down, you go hell for leather. It does feel like a sort of victory to us in many ways."
The players celebrated Kaboul's equalizer by sprinting to embrace Jol, who looked like a condemned man when Villa's fourth goal by Craig Gardner went in in the 59th minute.
"You should have seen him [Jol] at the end when we scored the goal," Keane added. "He had the support from everyone. He's shown what a good manager he is over the past couple of years."
Jol showed the strain of the evening when he said: "I don't know what to feel.
"It was awful but on the other hand it was a big celebration at the end," he said.
"But we came back from the death and that was a big positive, but I don't think I've ever been involved in a game like this," he said. "We could have won it at the end."
Asked if he felt he was safe for the time being, he said: "I don't know. It's not up to me."
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