Bent scores hat-trick in Spurs romp
Darren Bent back to his best under Harry Redknapp
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Thursday, 06, Nov 2008 11:05
Tottenham continued their great run of form with a convincing 4-0 win over Dinamo Zagreb at White Hart Lane in the Uefa Cup this evening.
Darren Bent scored a hat-trick, while Tom Huddlestone scored a 20-yard stunner as Harry Redknapp continued to work his magic at Spurs.
Tottenham started in blistering fashion and Aaron Lennon, who was recalled to the starting line-up, was looking especially threatening on the left-wing.
But for all their attacking endeavour, Tottenham had to wait until almost the half-hour mark to take the lead. Former Zagreb star Luka Modric delivered a ball into the box, which deflected off two players before landing at the feet of Bent, who saw his shot take a deflection before sneaking in off the underside of the bar.
Bent doubled Tottenham's lead only four minutes later with a clinical finish. The England man was put through by Huddlestone and he burst between two players before coolly finishing past Kelava in the Zagreb goal.
Zagreb were non-existent as an attacking force in the first-half and the only decent effort they had on goal was a low shot from former Aston Villa player Bosko Balaban which Heurelho Gomes easily saved.
The goal of the night came 15 minutes into the second-half as Huddlestone made it 3-0. David Bentley floated in a corner to the edge of the box where Huddlestone was positioned and the England under 21 star volleyed the ball into the bottom corner.
Zagreb were all over the place and it was just a matter of how many goals Spurs would score against the visitors.
Luckily for the Croatian side Spurs scored only one more goal, but it was an important one as the re-born Bent completed his hat-trick. The former Charlton man again finished well after collecting a through-ball from Bentley.
Tottenham took their foot of the gas after the fourth goal. The only other notable occurrence of the game was the debut of teenage star John Bostock and he showed his potential with a thunderous 25-yard strike which went just wide.