Source: Daily_Mail
Preston 1 Tottenham 5: Peter Crouch puts on a volley good show for five-star Spurs
A Peter Crouch hat-trick made sure that Tottenham progressed comfortably on what could have been a tricky night at Deepdale. [LNB]Preston created plenty of chances, but here was a clear demonstration of the difference in class between Premier League and Championship strikers as illustrated by Crouch's treble. [LNB] Hot for Spurs: Peter Crouch scores his first goal...[LNB]After Tottenham's 100 per cent start to the season was wrecked by back-to-back defeats against Manchester United and Chelsea, manager Harry Redknapp was in no mood to see his side fall victim to a cup shock. [LNB]Two successive Carling Cup final appearances in the last two years are testament to how seriously Spurs take this competition, and Redknapp did not disappoint in his team selection despite making seven changes from Sunday's trip to Stamford Bridge.[LNB]He was able to pick Michael Dawson and Gareth Bale for the first time this season, with Dawson's return in central defence particularly timely after Ledley King and Sebastien Bassong were hurt at Chelsea. [LNB]Heurelho Gomes was also back in goal, and the Spurs keeper was involved inside the first minute. Having given Jon Parkin a sniff of an empty goal with an awful clearance, the Brazilian will not have thanked Dawson for an equally uncertain first touch which put the goalkeeper under pressure. [LNB]...and celebrates with fellow goalscorer Robbie Keane[LNB]Gomes was more assured with his hands, however, producing a fine one-handed save to turn away Billy Jones' downward header from a Michael Hart cross from the right as Preston made a bright start. [LNB]It was Tottenham who went closest, however, with Giovani Dos Santos rattling Andy Lonergan's bar with a shot on the turn from the edge of the area. That proved to be the Mexican's last meaningful contribution after he was forced off by a crude challenge from behind by Jones. [LNB]The injury hardly helped Preston and Peter Crouch opening the scoring as Dos Santos was preparing to make way for England winger Aaron Lennon. Bale was given far too much time on the left in the 14th minute and he measured a cross to the back post where Crouch stretched out one of his long legs to volley the ball past Lonergan. [LNB]Tottenham's second arrived in the 37th minute and it owed everything to the persistence of Jermain Defoe. He burrowed his way through the Preston defence and, although Lonergan came out to block his first effort at point blank range, the England striker followed up to head the loose ball into an empty net for his sixth goal of the season. [LNB]The Championship side had enough chances to be level at the interval, with Parkin in particular keeping Gomes on his toes. Having been denied by a wonderful fingertip save from the edge of the area, the big striker should have done better than to plant a free header straight into Gomes' hands, and he then saw another long-range effort sail narrowly over the top. [LNB] Yellow peril: Tottenham's other scorer, Jermain Defoe, holds off the challenge of Youl Mawene[LNB]Darren Carter wasted another chance, shooting wide after Steve Elliott had panicked Alan Hutton into giving away possession as the Spurs defender struggled to deal with a high ball over the top, and Jones was off target when Ross Wallace's cross fell to him eight yards from goal. [LNB]The match announcer urged the home supporters to get behind the 'pride of Lancashire' as the two teams emerged for the second half but Preston's hopes looked distinctly forlorn. [LNB]They would have gone even further behind had Lonergan not lunged across his goal in time to turn Tom Huddlestone's low first-time volley round the post, before the keeper denied Lennon as he cut in from the right to try his luck with a curling effort. [LNB]But Crouch pounced for his second in the 77th minute, running onto Lennon's low cross to tap home. Chris Brown pulled one back for Preston in the 83rd minute but Robbie Keane made it four three minutes from time before Crouch completed his hat-trick in added time. [LNB]PRESTON (4-4-2): Lonergan; Hart, Mawene, Chilvers, Nolan; Jones, Shumulikoski, Carter, Wallace; Parkin, Elliott. Booked: Nolan. TOTTENHAM (4-4-2): Gomes; Hutton, Dawson, Huddlestone, Bale; Bentley, Jenas, Palacios, Dos Santos; Crouch, Defoe. Man of the match: Peter Crouch. Referee: Phil Dowd.[LNB] Manchester Utd 1 Wolves 0: Welbeck finds a Silva lining for 10-man United Chelsea 1 QPR 0: Joe Cole returns to help fire Ancelotti's men into the next roundAston Villa 1 Cardiff City 0: Hot Gab gives O'Neill the joy of sixHull City 0 Everton 4: Yakubu gets off the mark as Brown's boys take a beatingPreston 1 Tottenham 5: Peter Crouch puts on a volley good show for five-star SpursAll the action from the Carling Cup third round as it happenedTOTTENHAM HOTSPUR FC
