Premier League - Defoe hits five for Spurs

Eurosport - Mon, 23 Nov 09:52:00 2009

Jermain Defoe fired in five goals as Tottenham Hotspur destroyed Wigan Athletic 9-1 at White Hart Lane in the Premier League.

2009-10 Premier League Tottenham's Defoe celebrates hat-trick against Wigan - 0

Peter Crouch scored the opener for Spurs with the returning Aaron Lennon, Niko Kranjcar and substitute David Bentley also hitting the target, but Defoe rightly hogs the headlines as he rocketed up to the top of the league scoring charts, overtaking Fernando Torres with 11 goals. The result moves Spurs back up into the top four, level with third-placed Arsenal on 25 points.

Defoe's haul eclipses that of his club captain Robbie Keane, who managed four in the 5-0 win over Burnley in September, and equals the Premier League record set by Andy Cole in Manchester United's 9-0 defeat of Ipswich Town in 1995 and matched by Alan Shearer for Newcastle four years later.

The stunning exhibition of clinical finishing from the England striker also takes his record against the Latics to nine goals in six Premier League starts against them.

His hat-trick came in a frantic seven-minute spell early in the second -half in which Paul Scharner also scored Wigan's consolation goal, but it was Crouch who got Spurs off and running.

After a opening 10-minute onslaught in which he had already put two chances wide, Crouch got in behind Titus Bramble to stoop low and head in Lennon's cross to put Spurs ahead.

Lennon, making his first appearance since picking up an injury in the 1-0 defeat to Stoke a month ago, terrorised former Spurs left-back Erik Edman throughout the match, if this game can be called that.

After Chris Kirkland had kept his side in the match at the break with two good saves from solid Defoe strikes, his team completely fell apart in the second half and looked nothing like the side that has beaten Aston Villa and Chelsea this season.

Five minutes after the break Defoe got off and running when he steered Lennon's low cross into the roof of the net from close range.

Three minutes later it was two for him when Emmerson Boyce failed to intercept Wilson Palacios's through ball and Defoe fired a clinical low strike across goal into the far corner.

With Wigan 3-0 down they already looked dead and buried, but Scharner gave them a sliver of hope when he fired in Hugo Rodallega's cross after clearly controlling the ball with his arm. Referee Peter Walton ignored Tottenham's protests and gave the goal, but it was cancelled out moments later when a rasping shot from Lennon's ball from the byline sealed Defoe's hat-trick and restored Tottenham's three-goal lead.

From then on there was only one side in this game and Tom Huddlestone, Lennon and Kranjcar ran riot in midfield. Lennon got a goal he richly deserved when Crouch played him in on the right to smash a low finish past Kirkland, and four minutes later Defoe latched on to Vedran Corluka's through ball to fire in his fourth.

The match began to open up as Tottenham eyed a record scoreline and Wigan frantically tried to save face, but it all fell apart for the visitors as they conceded three more in the final few minutes.

Edman's awful miscontrol of Kranjcar's long ball allowed Defoe to saunter through and fire in his fifth through Kirkland's legs, and in the very next minute Bentley saw his well-struck free-kick rebound off the bar and in off the back of Kirkland's head.

Bentley turned provider in the third minute of injury time when he found Kranjcar on the edge of the box, and the Croat midfielder rounded off the rout with a swift turn and rocket shot that flew in off the underside of the bar.

Tony Mabert / Eurosport

Comment 221 - 240 of 240

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  1. 322 who gives a total w.ank about Ulster

    From Campbell, on Tue 24 Nov 1:18AM

  2. #244 Hey zoe i have plent of experience give me a call­ 0208 big c.ock..

    From waltjabasco, on Mon 23 Nov 7:59PM

  3. As a lifelong chelsea fan for over 35 years(no love­ lost between chelsea-v-tottenham)it
    makes me laugh when­ i see comments coming from others ie man utd and­ liverpool fans cos
    they have short memories,when they­ had the same score against crystal palace/ipswich
    they­ were full of themselves,so when the likes of­ liverpoool,man utd,chelsea or arsenal
    can beat each­ other by 8 or 9 nine goals then we can see how good you­ are all are'so as
    much as it pains me to say­ it,remember wigan beat chelsea 3-1 so well done­ spurs..but
    beating spurs 1-6 at the lane in the 97/98­ season was fun...

    From WHITEWALL, on Mon 23 Nov 7:01PM

  4. Young Irishmen, in Ulster born
    Deprived of freedom,­ work and hope
    Oppressed by ruthless, racist laws
    That­ grind men down beneath the yoke

    And when the­ Bloodhound, comes at night
    To terror strike across the­ land
    With their tanks and guns
    And poor man's­ sons

    O'Hara, Hughes, McCreesh and Sands

    From 780, on Mon 23 Nov 5:10PM

  5. Who are you talking about Godwin,the actor or the­ writer?Because it's certainly not the football­ player!Learn to spell peoples names correctly before­ giving them abuse.

    From Iggy, on Mon 23 Nov 4:44PM

  6. lots of nice comments from Man U fans........ is it coz­ they keep nicking our best players? Watch out­ Harry.......................sumfing eez up ere!

    From meetoo, on Mon 23 Nov 2:23PM

  7. its a cracking result against a team many would have­ said were one of the form teams at the moment an we all­ know how difficult it is for any team to score 9 as it­ dosnt happen often an no liverpool chelsea and arsenal­ cant say much as they havent done it to anyone in this­ league

    From JULIAN, on Mon 23 Nov 1:34PM

  8. Comment 180 from ninja king. I'm actually a­ barcelona fan as my mum is spanish and I grew up there­ as a kid. I'll take 3 titles in one season over a­ 9-1 v wigan any day!!!!

    From Simon, on Mon 23 Nov 1:34PM

  9. I love all the Chelsea & Liverpool fans going off­ on one about this result saying that theyd like to see­ Tottenham score 9 against teams like themselves, United­ etc and that Wigan are a 'poor' side - also­ telling them not to get too excited...

    Wigan are SO­ poor infact that Chelsea lost 3-1 to them :-)....
    And­ Spurs might not have got the nine goals against the­ Scousers, but at least they still beat you didn't­ they??

    Well done Spurs, great result. From a Man­ United fan

    From Joe Moore69, on Mon 23 Nov 12:41PM

  10. Kim.s you make me laugh, didn't wigan beat chelsea­ and villa and of course didn't we beat liverpool o­ yes we did, UNLUCKY. Come on you­ spurs!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

    From Joe, on Mon 23 Nov 12:30PM
  11. Comment hidden due to its low rating. Show

    This is like a dream BUT so you scored 5 goals against­ a very poor team, try scoring 5 against Liverpool and­ Man Utd etc ........, then see how good you­ are?

    Greetings from Liverpool ;-)))

    From Jenny, on Mon 23 Nov 12:10PM

  12. As a Wigan fan why do I have the feeling that one day I­ will be talking about this with my psychiatrist?

    From dunn.martin24, on Mon 23 Nov 11:24AM

  13. DEFOE CROUCH KEANE­ .......................................................­ ..
    HUDDLESTONE PALACIOS KRANJAAR­ LENNON................................
    LEDLEY DAWS­ WODDY­ BENNI..................................................­ ........
    & THE BRAZILIAN OCTOPUS GOMES
    NOW WE ARE­ MAKING YOU ALL SIT UP AND­ THINK????????????????????????????????
    COME ON YOU­ SPURS
    BET MAN UTD WON'T PLAY THEIR KIDS IN CARLING­ CUP NOW.
    ARISE SIR HARRY LORD OF NORTH LONDON

    From Cliff, on Mon 23 Nov 10:55AM

  14. How does beating Wigan 9-1 measure up against beating­ reigning champions Newcastle United 7-0, which the­ Spurs push-and-run team did at an equally memorable­ match back in November 1950? I was lucky enough to be­ there. The hat trick on that occasion went to Les­ Medley.

    From grant.f.edwards, on Mon 23 Nov 10:46AM
  15. Comment hidden due to its low rating. Show

    ............../´¯/)...........­ (­­­­­ \¯`\
    ............/....//...........­­­­­­ ...\\....\
    .........../....//............­­­ ­ ­ ­ ....\\....­­­­­­ \
    ...../´¯/..../´¯\.........../¯­­­­­­ `\....\¯`\­­­­
    .././.../..../..../.|_......_|­­ .\....\...­­­­ .\...\.\. ­­­­­
    (.(....(....(..../.)..)..(..(;­­ \....)....­­­­­­ )....).)
    .\................\/.../....\.­­­­­ ­ ..\/......­ ........../
    ..\.................­­­­­­ /........\................../ ­­­­­­
    ....\..............(.......... ..).......­­­­­­ ......./

    Take that Dafoe

    From Godwin, on Mon 23 Nov 10:32AM
  16. Comment hidden due to its low rating. Show

    yeah yeah yeah, Dafoe was lucky. Hey Dafoe don't­ think people now love you, especially the Essex police

    From Godwin, on Mon 23 Nov 10:19AM
  17. Comment hidden due to its low rating. Show

    ""I WOULD LIKE TO SEE SPURS GET THAT FOURTH­ SPOT MAN UTD­ FAN""

    They won't.­ Liverpool are having their worst run of form in decades­ and still the other teams just above them aren't­ many points in front. They'll need to be because no­ doubt Liverpool will go on a good run at some point (as­ they ALWAYS do each year).

    The top 4 will still be the­ same. In what order, who knows but the top 4 will be­ the same as usual.

    From Kim, on Mon 23 Nov 9:57AM

  18. Many congratulations to Spurs for super show... Most­ credits should go to Harry Rednapp for bringing back­ Defoe and Keane in which I for one thought it was a­ master stroke. From Man Utd fan

    From spikeymonty, on Mon 23 Nov 9:55AM

  19. Well done to Spurs but its only 1 game in a long­ season,

    From johnfwhiston1, on Mon 23 Nov 9:53AM

  20. 10 GOAL JOE PAYNE OF LUTON

    From Torchy G, on Mon 23 Nov 9:45AM
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