Tottenham- 5 Charlton Ath - 1:Just now Tottenham Hotspur are surely wishing they could play every game at home, ideally against Charlton Athletic. Spurs resemble a fortress at White Hart Lane, a sandcastle almost everywhere else. For Charlton the tide is coming in on all fronts.

The alacrity with which Tottenham punished Charlton's manifold shortcomings on Saturday contrasted sharply with their inability to find a home from home on other teams' grounds. All but three of their 25 points and three of their 20 goals have been gathered on their own hearth.

The circumstances of this win suggested that Spurs have the strength in depth to get the balance right. Injuries had deprived them of Robbie Keane in attack and Jermaine Jenas in midfield while Didier Zokora, their principal driving force, was suspended. No matter. Once a reorganised team had sorted itself out Charlton were blown away in two short bursts as Tottenham scored twice in as many minutes in the first half and three times in 11 in the second.

Two of their goals came from Dimitar Berbatov, who has now scored five in five matches and nine overall since joining Spurs from Bayer Leverkusen in the summer for £10.9m.

The biggest revelation on Saturday, however, was not so much Berbatov as the success Aaron Lennon had playing in an unaccustomed floating role behind the strikers.

"He put them under pressure with his dribbling and it's good for his confidence. As well as that he knows he can play anywhere. He can even develop as a second striker," said manager Martin Jol.

Lennon's sharp turn and through-pass set up Berbatov to give Spurs the lead just past the half-hour and his centre found Teemu Tainio who drove in their second two minutes later

At the end of the first half Michael Dawson, lunging back, deflected Andy Reid's low cross into his own net. "We got a lifeline and I was confident that if we got a few things right we'd have a chance," Les Reed, the Charlton manager, reflected.

In reality they went on getting things wrong and Spurs filled their boots. Steed Malbranque struck clinically for their third goal after Berbatov had nodded down a chip from Tainio and Lennon put Jermain Defoe through to add a resounding fourth. Finally Berbatov gathered an inspired throw from Paul Robinson to sprint half the length of the pitch, gather a fortuitous rebound off El Karkouri and complete Charlton's misery.

Guardian Service