Tottenham remain bottom of the Premier League after suffering a 2-0 defeat at Portsmouth.
Defoe and Crouch on target as Portsmouth rediscover form
Tottenham remain bottom of the Premier League after suffering a 2-0 defeat at Portsmouth.
Pompey had conceded ten goals in their previous two matches but they proved far too strong for a Spurs side still waiting for their first league win of the season.
Harry Redknapp's men carved out the best opportunities in the first half and deservedly took the lead after 34 minutes when Jermaine Jenas handballed and Jermain Defoe scored from the penalty spot against his former club.
Spurs briefly threatened a comeback at the start of the second half but Peter Crouch doubled Portsmouth's lead on 68 minutes after Heurelho Gomes spilled Armand Traore's shot.
Lassana Diarra was sent off late on for a second bookable offence but the damage had been done as Portsmouth climbed into the top half.
Bright start
Defoe had the ball in Tottenham's net in the third minute, but his clinical strike was correctly ruled out for offside.
Portsmouth threatened again soon after when Richard Hughes, stretching to hit Defoe's lay-off, forced a fine save from Gomes.
Hughes drew another impressive stop from Gomes with a low volley from the edge of the penalty area that the Tottenham keeper smartly parried away.
Spurs were clearly lacking confidence and cohesion. Jamie O'Hara's tame shot straight at David James midway through the half summed up their uncertainty.
Juande Ramos' side were set-up in damage-limitation mode with five in midfield but that just invited pressure and they cracked in the 33rd minute.
Glen Little whipped in a free-kick from the right and Jenas rashly stuck out his arm to control the ball.
Respect
Referee Mike Dean immediately pointed to the spot and Defoe stepped up to lash the penalty past Gomes. He made a point of keeping his celebration to a minimum as a mark of respect to his former supporters packed behind Gomes's goal.
Ramos replaced Gilberto with Aaron Lennon at half-time and Didier Zokora with Giovani dos Santos just before the hour mark.
Tottenham briefly sparked into life when Bentley shot just wide before Dean waved away appeals for a penalty when Diarra appeared to handle Lennon's cross.
But Portsmouth went further ahead in the 68th minute with a superbly-crafted goal.
Defoe turned Dawson on the edge of the area and picked out Traore wide on the left. The on-loan Arsenal youngster drove in a low shot that Gomes could only parry towards Crouch, who rose to head into the empty net from close-range.
The sense of crisis enveloping Spurs deepened when Ramos' decision to send on Bent in place of Roman Pavlyuchenko was greeted by chants of 'you don't know what you're doing' by Tottenham's unhappy fans.
Diarra was sent off in the 88th minute for a second booking after making a rash lunge on Benoit Assou-Ekotto but Spurs were already down and out.
| Portsmouth |
Team Statistics |
Tottenham Hotspur |
| 2 |
Goals |
0 |
| 1 |
1st Half Goals |
0 |
| 5 |
Shots on Target |
4 |
| 2 |
Shots off Target |
9 |
| 1 |
Blocked Shots |
3 |
| 3 |
Corners |
6 |
| 19 |
Fouls |
14 |
| 5 |
Offsides |
4 |
| 3 |
Yellow Cards |
3 |
| 1 |
Red Cards |
0 |
| 73.9 |
Passing Success |
81.8 |
| 30 |
Tackles |
26 |
| 73.3 |
Tackles Success |
80.8 |
| 34.4 |
Possession |
65.6 |
| 53 |
Territorial Advantage |
47 |
|
