New Delhi: Tottenham Hotspur ended Wednesday night at the top of the Premier League table as they trounced Hull City 5-1 at the KC Stadium.
A hat-trick from Jermain Defoe and goals from Wilson Palacios and Robbie Keane saw Spurs comfortably home.
Stephen Hunt had looked to have got the Tigers back into the game with a free-kick, but Hull struggled to come to terms with the visitors and lost their second consecutive game.
Spurs started on the front foot, as if they were the home side, and attempted to carve out several openings early on as Tom Huddlestone found Defoe after five minutes, but his lifted effort landed on the roof of the net.
The England international made no mistake at the second time of asking just five minutes later however, as the two combined again, with the diminutive striker beating Boaz Myhill, shooting across the goalkeeper's body.
Hull could not get a foothold in the game as Spurs continued to dominate, and they put the game further out of the Tiger's reach through Palacios just four minutes later.
It was the Honduran's first goal for Tottenham as he received a pass from Keane before slotting past Myhill after some superb counter-attacking football again involving Defoe.
At the other end, goalkeeper Heurelho Gomes had gone down with what looked to be a groin injury and was subsequently replaced by Carlo Cudicini, who made one of his last starts for the club at the KC Stadium last season.
Hull boss Phil Brown followed suit and brought Geovanni on for Daniel Cousin, much to the disappointment of the striker, and a goal soon followed in somewhat fortunate circumstances.
Stephen Hunt was awarded the goal, as his inswinging free-kick from the right-hand side went untouched and bounced unchallenged into Cudicini's net.
The goal gave the home side a much-needed lift as they started to trouble Spurs, halting their progress, and had a goal disallowed as Caleb Folan was penalised for tussling with Sebastien Bassong before beating Cudicini.
Hull failed to capitalise though and found themselves facing a two-goal deficit once again just before half-time, when Defoe took his tally to two, latching onto a smart flick from Keane, who helped Alan Hutton's pass on, before sprinting clear of Michael Turner and striking past Myhill again.
Brown made another change at the interval as former Spur Nicky Barmby was introduced in place of Steven Mouyokolo, but it was Tottenham who again started brighter.
Huddlestone and Luka Modric were firmly in control of the game and used full-backs Alan Hutton and Benoit Assou-Ekotto as outlets, with the French defender nearly finding Keane with a cross before George Boateng narrowly avoided turning the ball into his own net.
Hull appealed for a penalty with an hour gone as Bassong was involved in another wrestling match, this time with Geovanni, but the Tigers' roars fell on deaf ears as they continued to struggle with the visitor's slick passing football.
Geovanni, who secured a Hull win with a sensational free-kick against Spurs at the start of last season, had a chance to bring his side back into the game in similar fashion, but could only shoot straight at Cudicini as time started to run out.
Cudicini then denied the Brazilian for the second time in quick succession as he tipped a goal-bound header over the bar after Turner had nodded Myhill's free-kick into his path.
The game became stretched as Hull tried and tried again to force their way back into the encounter, but the result started to resemble a rout when Spurs got their fourth, courtesy of the outstanding Keane.
The Republic of Ireland international had been heavily involved in the majority of Tottenham's most productive play, and he was rewarded for his graft with a goal, starting and finishing a move with Aaron Lennon with a header.
Keane's goal effectively ended the game as a contest, and Defoe completed the scoring in stoppage time as Spurs headed to the top of the table, while Hull were left to reflect on their wholly contrasting form.
Comments
0 comment