/ 10 December 2006

Spurs bury sorry Charlton

Tottenham put relegation candidates Charlton to the sword at White Hart Lane on Saturday as they secured their sixth straight home win in the Premiership with a dominant 5-1 victory.

A brace of goals from Bulgaria striker Dimitar Berbatov along with efforts from Teenu Tainio, Jermain Defoe and Steed Malbranque secured the win while the Addicks consolation came from an own-goal by Michael Dawson.

The Addicks fourth straight away defeat in the league was their worst at Tottenham since 1957 and leaves them deep in the relegation mire, just one point above bottom side Watford.

Spurs manager Martin Jol brought Tainio into the starting line-up in place of Didier Zokora, who was suspended following his sending off in Tottenham’s 2-1 victory over visitors Middlesbrough on Tuesday.

Striker Robbie Keane missed out after suffering medial ligament damage in the same game, an injury that could keep him out for six weeks.

Charlton brought in Senegalese Souleymane Diawara to replace Djimi Traore, who picked up a hamstring strain in Charlton’s 1-0 home win over Blackburn on Tuesday, the Addicks first win under new manager Les Reed.

Spurs centre-back Dawson was cautioned for a wild lunge on Darren Bent after just three minutes while Charlton midfielder Bryan Hughes followed him into the referee’s notebook soon afterwards for bringing down the jet-heeled Aaron Lennon.

Amady Faye had the first meaningful effort on goal after 16 minutes but the Senagalese midfielder fired a low, skidding shot wide of Paul Robinson’s right-hand post from 25 yards.

Spurs thought they had a penalty in the 26th minute when Diawara shoved the rampaging Dawson off the ball on the right-hand edge of the area but referee Mike Dean turned down the appeals.

Berbatov did give the hosts the lead in the 31st minute when the Bulgarian was played into the area with a slide rule pass from Lennon before placing the ball past Scott Carson for his eighth goal of the season.

Two minutes Tottenham had doubled their lead when Tainio pounced upon a poor headed clearance from Talal El Karkouri and struck a sweet low drive from 20 yards out which took a slight deflection on its way past Carson.

Charlton pulled a goal back in the 42nd minute when former Spurs winger Andy Reid ghosted past Tom Huddlestone on the left and whipped in a low ball which Dawson put past his own goalkeeper under pressure from Luke Young.

Minutes later Young’s mistimed lunge on the edge of his penalty area almost gave Spurs a chance to restore their lead from the penalty spot but the foul was adjudged to be just outside the area.

Danish winger Dennis Rohmmedahl replaced Radostin Kishishev in the 53rd minute but within two minutes Malbranque had restored Tottenham’s two-goal advantage.

The former Fulham midfielder was picked out by Berbatov on the edge of the box before firing an unstoppable effort past Carson to notch his first goal for the club.

Faye almost pulled one back for the visitors but he sent his sliding effort from Lloyd Sam’s low cross well wide of Robinson’s goal and he was left to rue the miss when Defoe made it 4-1 to Spurs with a right-foot piledriver.

On 66 minutes Berbatov made it 5-1 with his second of the game which he fired beneath Carson from the left of the area and Charlton reacted to what was becoming a rout by bringing on striker Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink for Reid.

Jol denied Berbatov the chance of a hat-trick in the 76th minute when he replaced him with Egypt frontman Mido.

Huddlestone could have added a sixth for a rampant Spurs but his right-footed strike in the 83rd minute flew just over the crossbar. – Sapa-AFP