UEFA CUP GROUP STAGE Tottenham 4 Dinamo Zagreb 0: DARREN BENT hit his first Spurs hat-trick and Tom Huddlestone capped a commanding midfield performance with a spectacular goal as Tottenham dismantled the Croatian champions to keep their Uefa Cup campaign alive and extend their renaissance under Harry Redknapp.
The manager's eagerness to prolong the momentum generated by the successful start to his reign at the Lane meant he deployed a strong side.
Spurs' new confidence was evident in a vibrant start and, perhaps even more encouragingly for the locals, there were also signs that they are finding the fluidity they have lacked. David Bentley and Aaron Lennon raced regularly down the wings, aided by Tottenham's enterprising full-backs, while Luka Modric continued to revel in the free role Redknapp has given him just behind the striker.
Huddlestone and Didier Zokora patrolled the middle with power and impressive poise, and within minutes of the opening it all seemed too much for the visitors. After only four minutes Alan Hutton raced down the right, then slashed the ball across the goal with such venom the retreating Mario Mandzukic diverted it in a panic against his post.
Four minutes later Modric caught the side that sold him last summer by surprise when his quick free-kick teed up Huddlestone for a 20-yard shot that curled fractionally wide.
As Modric drew a fingertip save from the goalkeeper moments later, suspicions grew that the Croatians who would prove most troublesome to Tottenham may be the 200 or so Zagreb fans who periodically sent dense plumes of smoke over the pitch by igniting flares. When stewards intervened midway through the first half violence briefly broke out before the arrival of a clutch of policemen.
Those fans were soon subdued even further when Spurs opened the scoring after half an hour. Bentley flicked the ball cleverly forward to Modric, who flashed it into the centre where Huddlestone miscued, only for the unmarked Bent to slam the ball in off the underside of the crossbar from 15 yards.
Huddlestone made a far more elegant contribution to Bent's second, which arrived three minutes later. Collecting a Modric pass some 35 yards from goal, the giant midfielder surveyed his options before calmly stroking the ball through to Bent, who had again escaped the defenders, and from just inside the area he slotted the ball under Ivan Kelava.
A Bosko Balaban free-kick that sailed over the bar was the closest the visitors came to scoring in the first period, but at the start of the second Jonathan Woodgate had to react bravely to block a dangerous drive from Mandzukic.
Spurs' retaliation was swift. On the hour, moments after Bent had turned down a hat-trick invitation by nodding wide from close range, Bentley floated a corner towards the edge of the box and Huddlestone smashed a ferocious low drive past the goalkeeper.
As the Croats' spirit dipped, Spurs began to strut. Fittingly, Huddlestone was the architect of Tottenham's fourth, topping off a seemingly effortless move by rolling the ball through to Bent. This time, with only the goalkeeper to beat, the striker accepted his hat-trick and hit his ninth goal of a season that suddenly is not looking so desperate for Spurs.
• Guardian Service
TOTTENHAM: Gomes, Hutton, Woodgate (Gunter 85), Dawson, Bale, Bentley (Bostock 79), Zokora, Huddlestone, Lennon, Modric (Campbell 75), Bent. Subs not used: Cesar, Gilberto, Dervite, Assou-Ekotto.
DINAMO ZAGREB: Kelava, Ibanez, Hrgovic, Lovren, Balaban (Badelj 60), Sammir (Morales 43), Mikic, Mandzukic, Vrdoljak, Biscan, Drpic (Etto 46). Subs not used: Loncaric, Tomic, Tadic, Carlos. Booked: Lovren, Hrgovic.
Referee: Fredy Fautrel(France).
