London is a big town, but it would be hard to argue that anyone had a better day there Sunday than Jermaine Defoe.

Defoe, Tottenham’s star striker, became the first player to score five goals in one half of a Premier League game as Spurs thrashed Wigan, 9-1, at White Hart Lane. Once he got started, he almost couldn’t stop — scoring in the 51st, 53rd, 58th, 69th and 86th minutes.

“It did cross my mind whether I was going to get another one,” Defoe said of the prospect of a double hat trick. “I had another good chance, but you can’t complain getting five goals.”

Newcastle’s Alan Shearer (1999) and Manchester United’s Andy Cole (1995) are the only other players to score five goals in a Premier League game. Tottenham tied Manchester United for the most goals in a game; United beat Ipswich, 9-0, in 1995 — the game in which Cole scored five.

Most important, Tottenham tied Arsenal for third place in the standings at 25 points, behind only Chelsea (33) and Manchester United (28).

Recent News