England forward Jermain Defoe sent a shiver down the backs of Southampton supporters, who had in recent seasons become far too familiar with watching their side win against Spurs.
The 5-1 result at White Hart Lane on Saturday went some way to repairing the balance. The defeat for Southampton left them with the second worst away record in all four leagues. What made the pill more bitter to swallow for Harry Redknapp was the small matter of Tottenham’s Jermain Defoe, Fredi Kanoute and Michael Carrick all hailing from the West Ham United side he was in charge of before he went to Portsmouth.
The trio had a huge part in giving Tottenham a three-goal cushion by half-time, a feat all the more impressive given the fact Spurs hadn’t taken the lead inside the opening thirty minutes of a Premiership game all season.
"Frank Arnesen and I are working hard for Mr Levy to get Tottenham back to the top. We've got good players here and they are playing with confidence. I think as a football club we are improving all the time," says Jol.
Head coach Martin Jol chose to leave Robbie Keane on the bench after an indifferent performance at Manchester City last week. Tottenham's opening goal came about from an intelligent pass out from Kanoute on the right to Defoe, who found enough space to crash the ball into the roof of the net. Defoe then had two opportunities to extend the home side's lead inside a minute, but goalkeeper Annti Niemi made good saves. Then a mix-up in the Southampton defence let Defoe slot home his seventh Premiership goal from the corner of the penalty area. As Niemi came out to narrow the angle Defoe’s sublime touch beat the Finn. Then Kanoute took a pass on the edge of the area before slotting the ball inside Niemi's near post for Tottenham's third on the stroke of half time.
The visitors enjoyed their best spell at the start of the second half and had efforts on goal of their own. Paul Robinson had kept a Peter Crouch close-range effort out moments before another dangerous cross by David Prutton had Ledley King uncharacteristically slicing the ball in the air and onto Peter Crouch's head for a consolation effort. The three-goal deficit was back intact on the hour, after yet another mix up in the Southampton defence. This time Michael Brown had the opportunity to strike an effort from long range. Niemi could only parry the shot into the path of Defoe who was happy to complete a first hat trick for Spurs since his £7m move from West Ham almost one year ago.
The scoreline became a rout once substitute Keane got on the end of a clever looping pass from Defoe with two minutes remaining.
"I am a perfectionist but when you score five goals you can't complain," was Martin Jol’s response to Tottenham's biggest league win of the season.