PAUL ALLEN scored the winner in the 82nd minute against Aston Villa to lift Tottenham into joint second place in the League.

Villa had gone ahead in the 33rd minute through David Platt, Gordon Cowans chipping a free kick into the box for Platt to head home.

Spurs levelled on the stroke of half time when Gary Lineker got his fifth goal of the season.

And Paul Gascoigne almost increased Tottenham's lead in the closing minutes but the home fans had to be content with Allen's effort.

Both sides found it hard to create chances in the second half but Daley nearly did the trick when he slipped past five Tottenham defenders only to be stopped in his tracks by a good tackle from Allen.

It was Spurs though who had the last laugh when Mitchell Thomas dispossessed David Platt near his own corner flag and set Paul Walsh free up the middle of the park.

Walsh looked up and saw Allen bursting through the Villa ranks and fed the little midfielder with a superb through ball.

Allen kept cool and rammed the ball past the literally defenceless Spink.

The Londoners will probably come away feeling slightly fortunate to have taken the points.

Platt and Tony Daley probed and prodded the Tottenham defence while Paul McGrath kept Gary Lineker quiet for most of the match, even Gascoigne found it difficult to escape Paul Birch's tight marking and only once managed to break through the Villa defence forcing keeper Nigel Spink scramble the ball to safety.

It was Platt who opened the scoring after 32 minutes when he rose above the Spurs defence to head a Gordon Cowans’ free-kick past Erik Thorsvdt.

Tottenham looked in trouble but just before half-time a piece of typically deadly finishing from Lineker saw Spurs into the break on level terms. England's number one marksman dived bravely into a melee of players to head past Spink after a Gary Mabbutt's header had thudded off the upright.