Tottenham Hotspur 2, Wigan Athletic 1

Posted Sunday, September 25, 2011 by YAHOO Sport

WIGAN, England (AP)—Early goals by Netherlands playmaker Rafael van der Vaart and Wales winger Gareth Bale clinched Tottenham a 2-1 win over 10-man Wigan on Saturday and a third straight victory for Harry Redknapp’s team in the Premier League.

Spurs striker Emmanuel Adebayor capitalized on woeful defending by Maynor Figueroa to set up Van der Vaart for the opener in the third minute, before Bale glanced home Luka Modric’s corner 20 minutes later.

“It was complete domination in the first half and we could have come in three or four ahead,” Tottenham manager Harry Redknapp said.

Senegal midfielder Mohamed Diame blasted a low finish into the bottom corner in the 50th to bring Wigan back into the game, but Steve Gohouri’s 63rd-minute sending off for a second bookable offense hampered the hosts’ chances of an equalizer.

“It doesn’t matter how well Spurs played in the first half, the frustration was that the two goals were soft,” Wigan manager Roberto Martinez said. “But I couldn’t be prouder of the second-half performance with 10 men.”

Tottenham has turned its campaign around after beginning with back-to-back defeats and it has much to do with the signings of Adebayor and holding midfielder Scott Parker on transfer deadline day.

Adebayor, signed on loan from Manchester City for the rest of the season, scored three times in his first two games for Spurs and was impressive again at the DW Stadium.

The former Togo international missed two decent chances to increase Spurs’ margin of victory but Redknapp was still full of praise for Adebayor.

“If he keeps going like he’s going I’d love to keep him around. He’s been excellent so far,” Redknapp said. “But the wages will be the problem because he’s not cheap.”