Gomes – The ball moved

Gomes: Spurs keeper admits he was at fault for Real’s winning goal

Tottenham goalkeeper Heurelho Gomes has held his hands up for the blunder against Real Madrid in the UEFA Champions League.

Spurs were already facing mission impossible as they trailed 4-0 from the first leg of their quarter-final clash at Santiago Bernabeu.

And any lingering hopes of an improbable comeback were quashed when shot-stopper Gomes allowed a routine long-range effort from Cristiano Ronaldo to slip through his grasp and into the net to seal a 5-0 aggregate reverse.

The Brazilian initially struggled to win over the White Hart Lane fans with a number of unconvincing displays after his 2008 move from PSV Eindhoven and it had been suggested he was returning to his earlier error-strewn ways.

The 30-year-old fully accepts he was at fault but now wants his team-mates to focus on securing a return to European football’s top table next season.

“This was not my first mistake and I know it will not be the last one in my career, but I need to show character like I did before.”

Heurelho Gomes Quotes of the week

Mistake

“The ball moved a little bit but it was a mistake and I accept it,” Gomes said.

“This was not my first mistake and I know it will not be the last one in my career, but I need to show character like I did before.

“I know I was so important for the club and I need to move on because they need me. We have a lot of big games coming up and I need to recover quick.

“It was a difficult moment for me but I have to look forward because I know how important that is for the team.”

Gomes has urged his team-mates to forget the 5-0 aggregate loss and earn a place in next year’s competition by clawing back the three-point gap between themselves and Manchester City.

Dream over

He said: “The dream is over but we will still keep going to make sure we get a place in next year’s competition.

“There are a lot of big games coming up and we need to look forward to those games. This season is not over yet.”

Gomes could think of no better way of drawing level with City than by beating Arsenal next Wednesday to complete the club’s first league double over their local rivals for 18 years.

“Our next game against Arsenal will be massive for us,” he said.

“We know that and we want to be in the top four and we need to be strong.”