Man of the match Michael Gray claimed the sending off of Blackburn team-mate Tugay was a key moment as his side drew 1-1 with Tottenham in the Premiership at Ewood Park.

Tugay handed Rovers a 23rd-minute lead with a first-time volley from 25 yards which gave Spurs' England international goalkeeper Paul Robinson no chance.

His afternoon took a turn for the worse in the second half, however, when he was adjudged to have scythed down Hossam Ghaly in the area on the hour mark.

The Turkish international was dismissed and Jermain Defoe coolly struck his spot-kick low past Brad Friedel into the goalkeeper's right-hand corner, before Ghaly was also sent off in injury-time for flailing an arm in an aerial challenge, closely followed by his manager Martin Jol for protesting too vociferously.

Former Sunderland defender Gray said: "Tugay is an honest guy - he was just running back and slipped.

"It certainly changes the game and it was farcical to send him off "The linesman was trying to tell him he was last man. I can't see how he could see it anyway."

On the Ghaly dismissal, he added: "There was a few (elbows) flying around actually.

"If you are swinging your arm it can get dangerous. Maybe he got his just desserts, but I don't think we did as a team.

"We showed what we are all about today, the passion we showed was first class and if we had 11 men the result might have been different.

"We have been playing really well lately but everyone looks at the results "But we will get it right and be in the right half of the table at the end of the season."

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