West Ham United secured a valuable point in their battle for Barclays Premier League survival courtesy of a resilient goal-less draw at Tottenham Hotspur.
The UEFA Champions League quarter-finalists threw everything at the Hammers on a bright and sunny afternoon at White Hart Lane, only to find goalkeeper Robert Green and his team-mates in defiant form.
Indeed, had Carlton Cole converted two first-half chances or Spurs stopper Gomes not made a fine second-half stop to deny Demba Ba, Avram Grant's side could even have pulled of a shock victory in north London.
As it was, Green and company produced a display full of grit and determination to keep their local rivals at bay, with the goalkeeper making two outstanding saves to deny Jermain Defoe and Gareth Bale.
Michael Dawson and Aaron Lennon also hit the frame of the West Ham goal as Tottenham threw everything at their visitors, but they could not find a way through for the second time this season, having been beaten 1-0 at the Boleyn Ground in the reverse fixture in September.
Dawson fired the first shot across Green's bows, only to see his curling effort from 18 yards clip the top of the crossbar on its way over. Moments later, Bale crossed low for Defore, but the former Hammer could only glance his low shot a yard wide of the far post.
Having weathered the early storm, the away side came into the game and began to create chances of their own.
First, Cole's left-foot volley from Thomas Hitzlsperger's cross flew off-target. A short time later, the No9 was sent clear by Demba Ba, only to plant his shot straight into the arms of Gomes.
A breathless first half concluded with Tottenham back in the ascendancy. Luka Modric fired a rising shot narrowly wide before Lennon and Defoe went within inches of putting their team in front.
The winger, who had swapped flanks with Bale, cut in from the left before firing a shot against the inside of the post and, when the ball rebounded to Defoe, he could not react quickly enough to keep his left-foot effort on target.
Into the second half and Green was called into action by the lively Defoe, making a fine save to block the England forward's low shot before pulling off an even better stop to divert Bale's dipping free-kick onto the crossbar, allowing the alert Lars Jacobsen to complete the clearance.
In between, Ba had tested Gomes with a stinging drive, while full-back Wayne Bridge had put in a superlative performance to keep the combined talents of Lennon and Bale at bay.
Matthew Upson, Scott Parker and Mark Noble also shone, while Gary O'Neil was at his energetic best on his return to the starting XI after two matches on the sidelines.
"It was hard work," the No32 admitted. "It was a good team performance. It wasn't the prettiest. Tottenham worked us hard and are a good side at home and had a lot of the play, but we stuck at it and it was a vital point at the end.
"Spurs had a couple of clear-cut chances - probably not as many as they regularly create at White Hart Lane - but I've seen them play against some of the top sides in Europe and create a lot more than they did on Saturday, so the overall protection that the midfield and front lads gave the team was good. When they were needed, [Robert] Greeny and the back lads were fantastic."