Five-star Spurs see off Preston

23 September 2009 21:20
Peter Crouch made the most of only his third start of the season by claiming a clinical hat-trick to ease Tottenham into the last 16 of the Carling Cup with a 5-1 thrashing of Preston.[LNB]Spurs boss Harry Redknapp made seven changes for the third-round tie and Crouch emerged as the prime beneficiary as his predatory strikes took his season tally to five.[LNB]He made the most of his recall in the 14th minute when he dispatched Gareth Bale's deep cross with a fine volley and Jermain Defoe effectively finished Preston off with a predatory header seven minutes before half-time but there were plenty more goals to come.[LNB]With 13 minutes remaining, Crouch tapped home Aaron Lennon's low cross to add further gloss to a fine night for Spurs, who were given several scares by Alan Irvine's high-flying Coca-Cola Championship outfit.[LNB]Preston lacked nothing in spirit, and pulled a goal back in the 83rd minute through substitute Chris Brown.[LNB]However, Spurs substitute Robbie Keane added a fourth for Spurs with three minutes remaining and Crouch completed his treble with a cheeky back-heel in injury-time.

Source: Eurosport