Tottenham avoided another European hangover as they came from behind to beat a spirited Wolves.

Steven Fletcher tapped in Kevin Foley's cross to give Wolves the lead at the end of a first half Spurs had bossed.

Wolves held firm until Stephen Ward's foul on Alan Hutton allowed Rafael van der Vaart to score a penalty.

With three minutes to go, substitute Roman Pavlyuchenko side-footed in to put Spurs ahead before Hutton scored a fortuitous third.

The result was hard on the visitors, who once again proved determined and stubborn opponents, but was reward for a home side who created the greater number of chances throughout.

Spurs were unable to match the heights of their display during the 2-2 Champions League draw with Werder Bremen on Tuesday, but they will be glad to have avoided suffering another post-Europe home defeat after their 1-0 loss to Wigan earlier in the season.

However, it appeared as though this was to be Spurs' fate as Wolves - who have been accused of being overly physical of late after 13 bookings and a red card in their last two games - produced a performance of contained and efficient aggression.

The visitors frustrated Spurs for 25 minutes but as the first half wore on the home side began to assert themselves on the game.

The impressive Gareth Bale saw a shot saved by Marcus Hahnemann, with Robbie Keane's follow-up deflected wide by Foley.

The American goalkeeper continued to hold Tottenham at bay, producing two superb one-handed saves shortly after - the first from a rasping 15-yard drive from Van der Vaart and the second from a Peter Crouch back-post header.

Keane was starting his first game for Tottenham since 16 January, having spent the second half of last season on loan at Celtic, and while he proved a nuisance to the club where he began his career, he was also wasteful.

He should have scored from another Bale cross, but glanced his close-range header from a central position past the far post.

Wolves' goal, a minute before half-time was a sucker punch, as Foley found his way to the byline and crossed low for Fletcher to tap into the net.

However, if the goal rattled Spurs it did little to alter the balance of the game as they continued to press after the break.

In the space of 10 minutes at the start of the second half, Keane and Van der Vaart (twice) put efforts past the far post with low drives.

Their positivity was finally rewarded with 15 minutes remaining as marauding substitute full-back Hutton drew a rash challenge from Ward in the box and gave Van der Vaart the chance to level from the spot, which he duly took to score his first Spurs goal.

With momentum on their side, Tottenham then edged ahead when Tom Huddlestone's shot was deflected fortuitously to the feet of Pavlyuchenko off Wolves' Karl Henry and the Russian made no mistake with a neat side-foot finish from 10 yards.

It was a hammer blow to the away side, who had briefly offered hope of restoring their lead through an angled shot from Jelle van Damme, which was blocked by Crouch.

The result was sealed in injury time by Hutton, who cut in from the right and was allowed to advance by the Wolves defence's reluctance to offer a tackle. When a challenge finally came it was from Richard Stearman, who deflected the ball onto Hutton's foot and watched in vain as the ball looped over Hahnemann and in.