Veteran Gus Poyet came off the bench to wrap up Tottenham's victory and leave
Gary Megson's battling Baggies still fighting a battle at the wrong end of the
table.
When West Brom sub Scott Dobie struck at White Hart Lane to reduce the deficit
to 2-1, the visitors threatened to inspire an upset.
But Poyet bundled in an untidy third goal 10 minutes from time to make sure
there was no way back for the strugglers and move Spurs up to seventh in the
Barclaycard Premiership.
Gary Megson's side played some good, muscular football but were unsteady and
lacking pace at the back without the injured Darren Moore and Phil Gilchrist.
They were attempting to put consecutive wins together for the first time since
a trio of 1-0 wins confounded West Ham, Fulham and Southampton in early
September.
They may have to be sustained by those successes and last week's similar win
over Middlesbrough as they fight on to keep their heads above relegation water.
German star Christian Ziege got Spurs off to the best possible start with a
low free-kick from 25 yards which by-passed a ragged Albion defensive wall after
Larus Sigurdsson lost his cool with an impetuous lunge which cut down Teddy
Sheringham.
That was with less than three minutes on the clock and yet it was Albion who
took the initiative for next 25.
They switched from their early 3-5-2 formation which had mirrored Spurs'
line-up, and did not look at all fazed by the early setback.
Skipper Derek McInnes and Andy Johnson bit in with tackles to disrupt Spurs'
midfield rhythm which Hoddle had planned to achieve with the pairing of Jamie
Redknapp and Darren Anderton instead of the more combative Steffen Freund or
Poyet.
For a long while though it was Albion's Jason Koumas who provided much of the
midfield craft and also produced a low 25-yard effort which stretched Kasey
Keller.
Albion spurned a golden equalising opportunity when Neil Clement stabbed
across the goal and wide following a lightning break down the right by Igor
Balis.
But Tottenham doubled their advantage with Robbie Keane's fifth goal since a
£7million move from Premiership rivals Leeds.
Ziege ended a series of square passes with an incisive clip through the middle
which put Keane in behind central defenders and with only Hoult to beat, the
Irishman finished with aplomb.
Hoult - left with no chance by either Spurs strike - became progressively
busier as Tottenham gained in confidence.
Two minutes before the break he had to make a marvellous claim, coming out to
smother Ziege's low cross with Keane racing in.
Seconds later, Keane was in the clear again, although he looked suspiciously
offside, and Hoult raced off his line to get a block on the striker's shot,
which spiralled up over the bar as Albion defenders berated a linesman for not
raising an offside flag.
Albion's ideas seemed to be running out as Spurs held what they had in the
second half but soon after Keller escaped with only a yellow card when felling
Dobie outside the box.
The decision by referee Alan Wiley looked correct as there appeared to be
several Spurs defenders behind their goalkeeper when he charged out of his box.
Just when the home side looked to be coasting Dobie was granted acres of space
in front of the home defence to turn and fire a blistering cross-shot past Kasey
Keller with 18 minutes left and make it 2-1.
The respite and the hope were brief though as Poyet made his decisive
entrance.
The Uruguay ace, who at 35 says he will retire at the end of next season, was
already stripping off his tracksuit top in anticipation of a call to arms when
Dobie struck.
And just five minutes after his arrival as replacement for Teddy Sheringham,
he was in the right place to stab the ball past Hoult after the Albion hero had
defied a close-range blast by Poyet's fellow sub Steffen Iversen.
Teams:
Tottenham (2) 3 West Brom (0) 1
Tottenham: Keller, Carr, Perry, Richards, Ziege, Davies,
King (Iversen 64), Redknapp, Anderton, Sheringham (Poyet 74),
Keane.
Subs Not Used: Hirschfeld, Ferdinand, Doherty.
Booked: Ziege, Keller.
Goals: Ziege 3, Keane 30, Poyet 80.
West Brom: Hoult, Balis, Wallwork, McInnes, Clement,
Johnson (Adam Chambers 85), Gregan, Sigurdsson, Koumas,
Hughes (Dobie 55), Roberts (Dichio 81).
Subs Not Used: James Chambers, Murphy.
Booked: Clement.
Goals: Dobie 73.
Att: 35,958
Ref: A Wiley (Staffordshire).
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