TOTTENHAM boss Harry Redknapp refused to condemn goalkeeper Heurelho Gomes for his howler in Wednesday night's second-leg Champions League quarter-final defeat to Real Madrid.

The Brazilian stopper let Cristiano Ronaldo's speculative long-range shot squirm through his grasp and creep over the line to hand Madrid a 1-0 victory at White Hart Lane, sealing a 5-0 aggregate win after Spurs' mauling in the Bernabeu last week.

Reflecting on the overall tie, in which Peter Crouch was sent off in the first leg, Redknapp did not blame Gomes for the blunder.

“Going down to 10 men away from home made it an impossible task for us,” he said.

“The goal (on Wednesday) was disappointing but the goalkeeper's been great for us and he's made some saves that he's had no right to make in the past.

“He's made a rare mistake but that's how it goes.”

Redknapp was, however, critical of the officials stationed behind the goals who failed to award either of Tottenham's appeals for penalties, which included fouls on Luka Modric and Roman Pavlyuchenko.

“I thought that was a foul on Modric for sure,” he added. “But sometimes you get them, sometimes you don't.

“I sometimes wonder what the guy behind the goal is doing there. He must be there for some reason but I still haven't worked out why.”