Defoe scores five as Spurs demolish Wigan 9-1

By Alan Baldwin

LONDON (Reuters) - England striker Jermain Defoe scored five second-half goals as an irresistible Tottenham Hotspur demolished Wigan Athletic 9-1 to go fourth in the Premier League on Sunday.

Defoe stunned the hapless visitors and equalled the league's single match scoring record with a mesmerising second-half blitz at White Hart Lane after Spurs had gone in 1-0 up at the break thanks to a ninth-minute Peter Crouch header.

After hitting the bar in the 34th minute, Defoe opened his account in the 51st and completed his quickfire hat-trick seven minutes later -- the fastest since Robbie Fowler's three in four minutes for Liverpool against Arsenal in 1994.

He netted again in the 69th and added a fifth with a right-foot shot three minutes from time as Tottenham fans sang "we want 10."

Aaron Lennon also struck in the 64th while shell-shocked Wigan keeper Chris Kirkland added to the goal tally in the 88th when a David Bentley shot rebounded off the angle, hit him on the back and went in.

Croatia's Niko Kranjcar scored in the dying seconds to wrap up Tottenham's biggest win for 32 years, when they beat Bristol Rovers 9-0 in the second division, and their biggest in the Premier League.

"The lads can't believe it," said Defoe. "If you look at the finishing, all the goals were unbelievable. I looked over at the manager and he looked shocked as well.

"It's like a dream, it's brilliant."