Jermain Defoe: Scored a hat-trick in Hong Kong
Tottenham brushed off concerns over the pitch to produce a convincing 6-0 win over South China in Hong Kong.
Spurs had been disappointing in Wednesday's semi-final defeat to Sunderland in the Barclays Asia Trophy and manager Andre Villas-Boas admitted he would prefer not to be playing Saturday's third place play-off given the poor conditions.
But his team were business-like in the manner they dismantled the local side with Jermain Defoe grabbing a hat-trick in the process.
Danny Rose got the rout started in the 12th minute when he put in a firm cross from the left that former Manchester City defender Sean Tse could only turn past his own goalkeeper.
Spurs then wasted a series of chances as they utterly dominated their opponents with Clint Dempsey lofting the ball high over the bar when put clean through by the combative Scott Parker.
Defoe saw a shot saved from point-blank range just before the half-hour mark and then hit the post with a header just moments later.
But the England striker turned provider shortly afterwards, skinning his marker before cutting the ball back to allow Dempsey to get on the scoresheet in simple fashion.
Defoe finally had a goal of his own on the stroke of half-time as he latched onto Kyle Walker's deflected free-kick to slot the ball into the corner and effectively end South China's hopes.
After the interval, Defoe added his second when Zhang Chunhui attempted a clearance but the goalkeeper could only strike the ball against the Tottenham man who then finished with ease.
A series of substitutions disrupted matters but with 10 minutes remaining and South China tiring, Defoe completed his hat-trick by finishing neatly following Gylfi Sigurdsson's flicked through-ball.
One of the substitutes, Andros Townsend, made it six for Spurs late on when he drilled a low free-kick into the far corner to cap an impressive performance.
And although Dhiego Martins went close twice as the rain came down late on, 6-0 it stayed and nobody could accuse Tottenham of making heavy weather of this contest.
Source : http://www1.skysports.com/football/live/match/298997/report