Monday 23 November 2009

Tottenham run riot with nine

Eight second half goals produced an amazing score line at White Hart lane yesterday with Tottenham blasting Wigan Athletic 9-1. Jermain Defoe became only the third Premier League player to score five goals in a game with a hat-trick in seven minutes, and two more to follow.

Defoe joins Andy Cole (Man United 9, Ipswich Town 0 in 1995) and Alan Shearer (Newcastle United 8, Sheffield Wednesday 0 in 1999) on the five-goal mark, and it is only the second time that a team has scored nine since the inception of the Premier League in 1992.

An agonising second half for Wigan and boss Roberto Martinez must have seemed interminable as goals flew in on 51 mins, then 54,58,64,69, then a lull before three late goals (87, 88, 90) turned the score line from a thrashing into a total embarrassment. Peter Crouch, Aaron Lennon, an own goal and Niko Kranjcar added to Defoe's quintuple.

Defoe complimented Lennon for his assists, saying: "Azza made the difference. He's so direct. When you've got someone with that pace in the team, he's so direct, it's just easy for everyone.


"He gets the ball, you just leave him in a one-on-one and get in the box. Two fantastic crosses, which I made sure my movement was right for, and I got on the end of them and scored."


Wigan's goal - which made it 3-1 - was courtesy of a handball by Paul Sharmer, causing the Spurs fans to sing "Are you Henry in disguise?", but they weren't that bothered as Spurs' fourth goal was scored a minute later.

The question now for Tottenham is whether they can build on this result. Now in fourth, they travel to fifth-placed Aston Villa next Saturday. They're sure to present a sterner test.

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