Tottenham 3 West Ham 1: Defoe was immense, says Villas-Boas

Andre Villas-Boas hailed Tottenham’s “immense” Jermain Defoe after the Spurs striker fired his side to victory over West Ham United at White Hart Lane.

Gareth Bale set the tone in the 10th minute when the Wales midfielder struck the crossbar with a powerful shot, before Defoe’s superb solo effort gave the home side the lead on the stroke of half-time.

Villas-Boas’ side doubled their advantage in the 58th minute when Bale finished from close range, and Defoe completed his brace after good work from Aaron Lennon.

West Ham striker Andy Carroll pulled one back, netting his first Premier League goal of the season with a looping header – but the Spurs manager was pleased with his side’s display.

“It was a good 90-minute performance, very solid, and we kept creating. It’s difficult to defend long balls and crosses into box, but the boys did extremely well to handle the situation,” Villas-Boas told BBC Sport.

“We played two away games at top teams [Manchester City and Arsenal] and played well but didn’t get the results we wanted. Getting back to winning ways was extremely important.

“Defoe is a great player in a great moment of form. His desire and hunger are immense. He works hard and lives off scoring. He’s having a great season.”

Meanwhile, Sam Allardyce admitted the Hammers were comfortably beaten – but the West Ham boss hopes Carroll’s goal will improve the striker’s form.

“Our goal provides a platform to the players to show where to put the ball,” said Allardyce.

“If they put it in the rights areas Andy Carroll will score and he showed that with his header. Hopefully he can get on a bit of a run.”