Super Spurs smash Wigan

Redknapp's men run riot at White Hart Lane

Last updated: 23rd November 2009   Subscribe to RSS Feed

Super Spurs smash Wigan

Defoe celebrates with Huddlestone

Man of the match: Jermain Defoe must take this award after five brilliantly taken goals. Aaron Lennon was also superb.

Goal of the match: So many to choose from, but Bentley's late free-kick (technically a Kirkland own goal) was the pick of the bunch.

Save of the match: Chris Kirkland pulled off an excellent save at the end of the first half to deny Defoe from outside the box, a rare positive on a miserable day for the Latics' keeper.

Moment of the match: It was only 1-0 at half-time. Defoe's first strike after the break set up an astonishing 10-goal second period and setup the rout.

Talking point: Despite the thrashing, Paul Scharner's handball as he controlled for his goal will get the television replay debate going once more.

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Jermain Defoe helped himself to five goals as Tottenham demolished Wigan 9-1 at White Hart Lane to move into fourth spot in the table.

England ace Defoe was the star of the show as he notched five goals as Spurs recorded their biggest ever win in the Premier League.

Peter Crouch started the rout in the first half before Spurs ran riot in the second half with Defoe grabbing a seven-minute hat-trick (51,54,58) and going add to two more to his tally (69) (87).

Paul Scharner pulled back a controversial goal at 3-0 as it appeared he handled the ball before finding the net.

However, the respite was short-lived as Aaron Lennon deservedly got in on the act with a goal on his return to action before the unfortunate Chris Kirkland saw David Bentley's free-kick come off before ending up in the net.

Niko Kranjcar completed the rout in the closing seconds with a stunning finish to send the home fans into raptures and cement Tottenham's credentials of securing a top-four spot this season.

The clash was played on a Sunday following an agreement between the clubs so players could rest after the international break - and Defoe seemed the freshest on display by grabbing his goals in the second half.

It takes his tally to 15 for Spurs and England this season and it means his club have scored more than five goals in five matches during the current campaign.

They were his first goals too since his needless dismissal against Portsmouth last month, which Spurs boss Redknapp criticised him for.

Return

Redknapp will also be encouraged by his team looking more balanced following the return of England winger Lennon after missing three matches with an ankle injury.

Croatia midfielder Kranjcar was on the other flank, meaning Redknapp ditched his recent diamond formation and started with Robbie Keane on the bench following his World Cup efforts with Republic of Ireland last week.

Wilson Palacios, making his first appearance against Wigan since leaving the club in January, started the move for the ninth-minute opener by feeding Lennon on the right, with the England winger sending over a gorgeous cross between goalkeeper Chris Kirkland and centre-back Titus Bramble. Crouch was at the back post to head home.

Lennon almost added a second immediately after creating the opener, forcing

Kirkland to save his volley on the rebound after Emmerson Boyce cleared off the line to deny Defoe.

Kirkland also saved from Palacios at full stretch after a 25-yard drive, while

Wigan's response was a volley from Mohamed Diame that flew wide.

Wigan had not won in London since 2006 when they defeated West Ham - and the threat Spurs posed meant it appeared unlikely they would break that run. Tom Huddlestone was the next to go close, with a drive that shaved Kirkland's post.

The visitors, however, kept looking for the counter-attack and Jason Scotland forced Heurelho Gomes to save at his near post after former Spurs full-back Erik Edman fed him the ball on the edge of the area. Charles N'Zogbia also went just over with a curling effort and got closer with a free-kick.

Frenzy

Defoe struck the bar before the break, then burst into a scoring frenzy after the restart.

The first came from another Lennon cross, with Defoe getting in front of Bramble and crashing his finish into the roof of the net. His second strike came after Palacios' ball forward was totally missed by Boyce, with Defoe keeping his cool to finish slot his finish into the far post.

Then came Scharner's moment of controversy. Hugo Rodallega crossed the ball from the left and the Austrian midfielder clearly used his hand to control before lashing past Gomes and into the roof of the net.

The Spurs bench were furious with referee Peter Walton for letting the goal stand - but Defoe restored the three-goal cushion with his hat-trick straight away.

Lennon crossed again and this time Defoe volleyed home at the near post, meaning he wrapped up his treble in just seven minutes - still short of Robbie Fowler's record when the Liverpool favourite struck in under five minutes.

Lennon added the fifth himself after Crouch smuggled the ball out to his team-mate from a congested penalty area, with the winger angling his finish into the far post.

Defoe, in full flow now and demanding the ball, grabbed his fourth 21 minutes from the end by latching on to Vedran Corluka's ball and firing home off the post.

His fifth came after a mistake by Edman, with Defoe finishing through Kirkland's legs. Bentley's free-kick accounted for the eighth goal, his effort going in off Kirkland after coming down off the underside of the bar. Kranjcar's goal, the ninth, also went in off the woodwork.

Tottenham HotspurTeam StatisticsWigan Athletic
9Goals1
11st Half Goals0
14Shots on Target4
12Shots off Target6
1Blocked Shots3
10Corners5
9Fouls10
5Offsides3
1Yellow Cards0
0Red Cards0
80.6Passing Success73.4
29Tackles17
72.4Tackles Success76.5
54.1Possession45.9
51Territorial Advantage49

Comments (17)

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Roy Webb says...

History shows that in a couple of weeks spurs would love some of those goals in another match, but thats football, this week 9 of the 14 shots on target went in, sometimes it just happens that way, but well done was good to watch, and lets hope Defoe can do it for England. A hattrick in the final

Posted 08:46 23rd November 2009

Jimmy Greaves says...

Defoe and Rooney are different players. Defoe can be a bit blinkered going for goal when others are better placed but his finishing is exceptional, especially from tight angles. He can also shoot accurately with both feet. To me those qualities are a must for the World Cup.

Posted 06:23 23rd November 2009

Aayush Singh (Manchester United fan) says...

LOL! You can't score 9 goals against Wigan in Fifa 10 also. :P

Posted 06:14 23rd November 2009

John Smith (Manchester United fan) says...

Yup. I agree with many of the comments here. Defoe should undoubtedly start for England. Capello must not choose a player merely based on his name or previous contributions. Heskey is definitely out. And Defoe should be the first choice along with Rooney. And if it is between Rooney and Defoe, it should be Defoe as a striker. Rooney may contribute more to the midfield than Defoe. But as a striker, it is Defoe. And Lennon must also be chosen ahead of all other wingers because he is the best winger in the EPL currently. How i wish that these two were playing for MU. One more point, Bentley is good too, perhaps second best after Lennon. He should also be considered by Capello ahead of some other terrible wingers. One thing i dont understand about the silly spurs coach though, is the fact that he refuses to recall Dos Santos or perhaps to a lesser extent Taraabt. If it was Alex Ferguson, Dos Santos will be a world class star by now.

Posted 03:32 23rd November 2009

James Wallace (Derby County fan) says...

as a proud Derby fan, i would like to point out that even we never conceded that many in a game in our fateful 11 point season!

Posted 02:05 23rd November 2009

Singh Khalsa (Tottenham Hotspur fan) says...

Well played Spurs. I think Cappello needs to find a role for Defoe. Perhaps play Rooney on the left with Crouch and Defoe up top with Lennon the right with Barry and Gerrard in the middle??

Posted 00:50 23rd November 2009

David Eccles (Wigan Athletic fan) says...

Just got back from WHL, what a shoddy performance. Defoe was outstanding, but Erik Edman gave Lennon far too much room to operate down the channels, allowing balls to get played into the box so easily. Defoe always had the pace on Bramble, and Boyce, and Wigan didn't stop the through balls. Considering Martinez was playing 5 in midfield, thats disgraceful. Be a long time till I spend 10 hours on a coach to go and watch Wigan again.

Posted 22:51 22nd November 2009

Rob B (Wigan Athletic fan) says...

I'd take exciting football any day over long ball / boring football. Even if it means struggling in the premiership (and possible relegation). It beats playing game after game of tedious defensive football trying to scrape out hollow victories. Bobby you are the man!

Posted 22:22 22nd November 2009

John Mcfall (Tottenham Hotspur fan) says...

Great Result for Spurs and the fans; we must make sure we use this win and keep in the top four. Next week is a six pointer.

Posted 21:36 22nd November 2009

Chris Stockton (Tottenham Hotspur fan) says...

As a Spurs fan what a fantastic result. You have to feel for Wigan though. As someone has already posted, we have been threatening to do that for weeks. The side looked great today and with Modric and Dos Santos still to return, the future looks bright for THFC. We need to back it up next week with a result at Villa

Posted 21:31 22nd November 2009

Stu Rogers (Tottenham Hotspur fan) says...

seeing as how scharner handled the ball, maybe theyll offer to replay the game!!!

Posted 18:10 22nd November 2009

Tomas Mchendry (Manchester United fan) says...

I can't believe that at half time I thought that Wigan could come back after only being 1-0 down, but how wrong was I? Jermaine Defoe for England!!!

Posted 18:06 22nd November 2009

Bhavin Khima (Manchester United fan) says...

Brilliant display by defeo......hopfully he keeps it up and takes it to south africa

Posted 18:05 22nd November 2009

James Bush (Tottenham Hotspur fan) says...

We have been threatening to go goal crazy for some time now... Just Brilliant! Just a shame that Robbie was not involved to grab a couple more and help to forget about that defeat to France

Posted 18:05 22nd November 2009

Tom Willetts (Chelsea fan) says...

Why doesn't Defore start for England? On this type of form you can't stop the guy! On this form he is outplaying Rooney as a striker; yes I understand offers other things but he isn't scoring much right now, for club or country. That leaves Heskey the man expected to score for England; he may have scored this weekend but he is certainly no prolifc scorer. Why can't we play Rooney and Defoe together? Yes it is two "smaller" players, but Rooeny is hardly a small lad! Plus when you see teams like Spain playing Villa and Torres up top, why do we feel the need to put a donkey up there to "hold the ball up"? Cappello says about playing the best form players (a reason he won't select Owen), yet he won't play the most in-form striker in the Premiership today, possibly the world at thi point (I'd like to see the stats!).

Posted 17:57 22nd November 2009

John Foster (Wigan Athletic fan) says...

Will somebody please tell Mr Martinez you cant play 'flair' football on a shoestring budget.....the two things simply dont go together. Rob your out of your depth!!

Posted 17:53 22nd November 2009

John Smith (Arsenal fan) says...

i would always pick defoe ahead of rooney in england set up because he controls better,shoots better and is quicker and takes on defenders which rooney has not taken on defenders..but i guess rooney wud still be the favourite to start

Posted 17:52 22nd November 2009
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