Jermain Defoe was the star of the Tottenham team, as he helped them to finally bring an end to the poor run of form they have been experiencing in recent weeks.
Tottenham were coming into the match against West Ham United on the back of three consecutive defeats in the Premier league. This has almost destroyed their hopes of qualifying for the Champions League next season.
They are currently a few points behind Arsenal, and a bad result yet again in the match against West Ham would have been to final nail in the coffin. However, the former West Ham striker Jermain Defoe scored against his former club to help Tottenham to get their first victory in three matches.
Jermain Defoe scored his first goal of the match just a few minutes before the break. This was the crucial goal of the match because it helped Tottenham to play with much more freedom and space in the second half. Gareth Bale soon doubled Tottenham’s advantage in the match by scoring in the 58th minute. Then, Jermain Defoe scored his second goal of the match shortly afterwards to give Tottenham a comfortable lead in the match. The lead was so comfortable that the goal by Andy Carroll late in the match proved to be only a consolation for West Ham.
“We played two away games at top teams [Manchester City and Arsenal] and played well but didn’t get the results we wanted. Getting back to winning ways was extremely important. Defoe is a great player in a great moment of form. His desire and hunger are immense. He works hard and lives off scoring. He’s having a great season,” said the Tottenham manager Andre Villas-Boas after the match. The result has lifted Tottenham to the seventh position in the league.