Spurs come from behind to win away at West Ham

West Ham 1 Tottenham 2. Harry Redknapp's Spurs side kept up their 100 per cent start to the season, coming from behind to overwhelm fellow Londoners West Ham thanks to goals from Jermain Defoe and Aaron Lennon and keep the White Hart Lane outfit on top of the Premier League.

An entertaining first half saw both sides go close with chances as Redknapp returned to the club he managed for seven years. But the match exploded into life in five mad minutes at the beginning of the second period, when Carlton Cole struck a sublime volley past Carlo Cudicini in the Spurs goal.

Cole's joy was shortlived as minutes later he inexplicably sent a pinpoint pass through his own defence to the feet of Defoe, who, scarcely believing his luck, made no mistake in burying a powerful shot past Hammers goalkeeper Robert Green.

Worse was to come later in the game, when Jonathan Spector gifted possession to England international winger Lennon on the edge of the West Ham box with just 11 minutes left. Lennon ghosted in-field and struck home the winner for the visitors.

WHAT THEY ARE SAYING
Dominic Fifield, the Guardian: "Tottenham Hotspur's spell on top of the Premier League has been maintained and, much to the locals' anguished consternation, they can thank bitter rivals in West Ham for keeping them there. A second-half deficit was overturned by the visitors this afternoon, with both Spurs' goals handed to them by generous defending. The Boleyn Ground has rarely ever proved this hospitable."

Matt Barlow, Daily Mail: "Not since 1960-61 have they started a campaign with three league wins - and that in itself is enough to stir the blood of any Tottenham supporter old enough to recall the Glory, Glory days. Spurs won the Double that year. So, manager Harry Redknapp moved swiftly to try to control expectations after his team came from behind to win at West Ham with goals from Jermain Defoe and Aaron Lennon."

Matt Hughes, the Times: "This was Redknapp’s fifth successive win on his old stomping ground, although a more telling statistic after Tottenham’s third win in eight days is that the last time they started a league campaign so convincingly, they went on to claim the title. The Tottenham manager usually needs little invitation to indulge in hyperbole, but even he realised the folly in comparing his entertaining side to the 1960-61 Double winners. As if to underline the point, Bill Nicholson’s team won their first 11 matches that season, a feat that is likely to be beyond Spurs this year, particularly because they face Manchester United and Chelsea in two of their next three matches." ·