ANTHONY GARDNER’S 89th minute deflected strike sent Tottenham back to second behind Arsenal in the Premier League Sunday after a dramatic end to its 3-2 victory over last place West Ham.

　　All five goals came in the last 28 minutes at White Hart Lane with the Hammers twice canceling out goals by Simon Davies and a Teddy Sheringham penalty.

　　West Ham defender Ian Pearce was shown the red card for giving away the spot kick but Trevor Sinclair made it 2-2 to go with Frederic Kanoute’s earlier equalizer.

　　The game seemed headed for a tie until Gardner struck the winner with a low shot that struck West Ham defender Gary Breen and flew past ’keeper David James.

　　It was a similar story at Maine Road as Shaun Goater’s lucky last- minute equalizer capped a Manchester City fightback from two goals down against Blackburn.

　　Chinese defender Sun Jiahai played a full game for City again.

　　David Thompson gave Rovers a 26th minute lead and Andy Cole made it 2-0 in the 54th. When Aussie defender Danny Tiatto was ejected just six minutes after entering the game for a reckless, two-footed foul on Thompson, Kevin Keegan’s team appeared headed for a fourth loss in six games.

　　But French star Nicolas Anelka hit back in the 80th minutes before Goater salvaged a point for Keegan’s men and denied Graeme Souness’ team all three. His shot struck both Blackburn defender Lucas Neill and American goalkeeper Brad Friedel before ending up in the net.

　　A sour note for City was that the club has decided to suspend Irish defender Richard Dunne for an undisclosed breach of club discipline. Keegan said he would give more details later in the week.

　　Tottenham’s win means that Glenn Hoddle’s team is a point behind north London rival Arsenal with six games gone and both Manchester City and Blackburn climbed two places to 11th and 13th respectively.

　　Arsenal’s 3-0 victory at Charlton Saturday provided more proof that Arsene Wenger’s team looks even stronger than last season when it won both the league and FA Cup.

　　Meanwhile, Manchester United remains on the slide. Alex Ferguson’s team lost for the second time in four days as his defense left Harry Kewell unmarked in front of goal to earn a 1-0 victory for Leeds United — its first in 10 games over the Reds.

　　With two wins and two losses from six games, United has made its worst start since the Premier League began 10 years ago. The Reds lie in ninth place, six points behind Arsenal.

　　England captain David Beckham also hit the headlines for apparently elbowing Leeds’ Lee Bowyer in the face while goalkeeper Fabien Barthez faces a police inquiry over allegations that he either threw or kicked his plastic drinks bottle into the crowd.

　　Unbeaten Chelsea moved to third by outplaying struggling Newcastle 3-0 with Eidur Gudjohnsen’s first two strikes of the season and another by veteran Gianfranco Zola, who has scored five in six games.

　　(SD-Agencies)