Rampant Defoe helps Spurs tear Hull to pieces

Hull 1 Tottenham 5. Spurs confirmed the promise they showed with Sunday's 2-1 defeat of Liverpool by tearing Hull to pieces in a mismatch at the KC Stadium that had home manager Phil Brown reaching for the superlatives.

"They were fabulous," Brown said of Harry Redknapp's team who were already two goals to the good before the first quarter hour had passed, Jermain Defoe shooting past the busy Hull keeper Boaz Myhill after 10 minutes and Wilson Palacios scoring his first goal for spurs after being set up by the outstanding Defoe.

Hull briefly threatened to make a contest of the game after an early substitution brought on the mercurial Geovanni and Spurs goalkeeper Heurelho Gomes was replaced by Cudicini. One of the Italians first actions was to pick Steven Hunt's free kick out his net, before Defoe killed the game on the stroke of half time with his second, again set up by Tom Huddlestone.

The second half brought more pain for Hull as Robbie Keane finally found reward for his attacking play with a headed goal as the clock on the 78th-minute mark. Deep in injury time, Defoe got his third - to add to his recent brace for England - after striking an unstoppable drive from 20 yards out for his first Spurs hat trick.

WHAT THEY ARE SAYINGJeremy Cross, the Times: "Hull’s defending was hopeless and invited trouble. Palacios added a second after more poor marking and even though Stephen Hunt pulled one back for the home side - his free kick from the right wing somehow travelling through a crowded goalmouth and nestling in the bottom corner - the outcome was never in doubt. Turner’s mistake then allowed Defoe to make it 3-1 on the cusp of half-time and Keane added a fourth after the interval with a neat, glancing header from Aaron Lennon’s quicksilver break and neat cross. Defoe’s hat-trick was completed in stoppage time with a thumping finish to outline the difference in class and quality between the teams."

Richard Rae, the Guardian: "A frantic and often chaotic first half saw Spurs threaten to overwhelm a team generally expected to struggle, only to find themselves in danger of being dragged into the sort of scrap from which they tend to emerge having effectively conceded at least a point. Boxing clever, they extricated themselves with a level of skill which suggests talk of breaking into the big four may not be fanciful. Not with Jermain Defoe in this sort of form, anyway. The England forward has done a lot of extra work over the summer and judging by the power, movement and incisive finishing he demonstrated it has paid off."

Colin Young, Daily Mail:  "While it is six points out of six for Redknapp, poor Hull are left pointless and still searching for players, with Brown's former club Bolton the next visitors to test the patience of fans who have seen their team win just one of their past 23 games. They may have won six of their opening nine games a year ago but Hull have not prevailed at the KC Stadium since Christmas and the natives are restless. Brown has certainly had better days. Earlier he discovered his £12million move for Real Madrid's Alvaro Negredo had collapsed because the striker is joining Sevilla. Seven weeks of negotiations up in smoke." ·