First-half goals by Les Ferdinand and Christian Ziege and a beautiful last minute 30-metre lob by Gustavo Poyet gave Tottenham Hotspur a comfortable 3-1 home victory over Derby County tonight.
The result left new Derby boss Colin Todd with plenty to think about after his first English premier league game in charge.
After Teddy Sheringham had an eighth minute goal disallowed for offside, Ferdinand put Spurs ahead two minutes later when he touched in a tempting low cross from Christian Ziege.
Fabrizio Ravanelli equalised in a rare Derby attack in the 15th minute but Ziege deservedly restored the lead four minutes before the break after a defence-splitting pass by Sheringham.
Although Derby improved after the break, Poyet's stunning third was the least Spurs deserved and they move up one place to 12th on 11 points. Derby remain third-last on five. Reuters