Berbatov inspires Spurs rout

West Ham suffer third consecutive 4-0 loss

Last updated: 9th March 2008

Berbatov inspires Spurs rout

Spurs celebrate Berbatov's opener.

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Tottenham recorded their first win since the Carling Cup final as they crushed ten-man West Ham 4-0 to pile more pressure on Alan Curbishley.

Dimitar Berbatov did the damage with two early headed goals. Tom Huddlestone was the provider on each occasion with excellent free-kicks, and the Bulgarian showed his prowess in the air with perfectly placed finishes past Robert Green.

West Ham's hopes of staging a comeback suffered a huge blow on the stroke of half-time when Luis Boa Morte's wild challenge on Aaron Lennon earned him a second yellow card.

Curbishley's side battle hard after the interval but could not break down Spurs' ever-improving defence, and the result was put beyond any doubt when Gilberto scored with a fine finish five minutes from time on his Premier League debut.

Darren Bent then headed in Alan Hutton's cross for his 100th career goal, as The Hammers slumped to their third consecutive 4-0 defeat.

The Hammers paired Dean Ashton and Bobby Zamora up front but, despite the latter being unfortunate with an early chance, they made little impact throughout.

Zamora took advantage of a Paul Robinson fumble but saw his finish loop over off team-mate Boa Morte.

Furious

Spurs were ahead after eight minutes, although Curbishley was protesting to fourth official Uriah Rennie near the tunnel and missed Berbatov's opener.

The Hammers boss was furious that Jonathan Spector, in place of injured Matthew Upson, had been penalised for a foul on Berbatov.

Huddlestone swung over a free-kick from the right flank and Berbatov's header on the penalty spot skidded past Green into the far corner.

The Spurs pair combined again three minutes later from the opposite flank with the same outcome. Berbatov's header this time beating Green at the near post.

It was too much for Freddie Ljungberg, who threw a water bottle to the touchline in disgust, while Hutton was on the receiving end of a spiteful late tackle.

Huddlestone, creator of the first two, then almost added to the scoring when he got on the end of Lennon's cross, but his header was too high.

Boa Morte picked up his first booking after persistent fouling, and received his second yellow card a minute from half-time for a foul on Lennon.

No complaints

There did not appear to be any complaints from the West Ham bench but Curbishley had words with referee Chris Foy in the tunnel at half-time, protesting about the foul leading up to the opener.

Huddlestone's effort went just wide early in the second half, while Ashton went over at the other end with a shot from the edge of the penalty area and Lucas Neill tested Robinson from a similar distance.

Despite the visitors applying pressure, Spurs could have added a third through Keane and Lennon when they broke.

Gilberto was brought on for Steed Malbranque just before the hour mark for his Premier League debut, and Bent was given a run in place of Keane.

The third came when Gilberto scored with a shot on the turn, with six minutes remaining, after Lennon had dummied a Pascal Chimbonda pass. Bent added the fourth with a stoppage-time header.