Keane double supplies the spark for Spurs

Tottenham Hotspur 3 Bolton Wanderers 1

Cartwheels of delight were the order of the day here yesterday as Robbie Keane celebrated his first Tottenham goals at White Hart Lane in characteristic fashion, goals which lifted Spurs to third in the Premiership behind leaders Liverpool and Arsenal.

For Bolton, however, life is looking decidedly bleak after a defeat which, in conjunction with Charlton's unexpected win over Middlesbrough, leaves them bottom of the heap.

Having got off the mark for his new side at his fifth attempt in their 2-1 win at Blackburn, Keane lived up to his name from first to last yesterday as he sought to improve his scoring ratio. He was rewarded twice in the space of 14 minutes midway through the second half, turning Tottenham's abundant talent and possession into the hard currency of points.

Tottenham fans have responded warmly to the Irish international since his £7m transfer from Leeds, and the cries of "Keano, there's only one Keano" were ringing around the ground well before he got off the mark. Now the goals are coming, it looks like being a long and happy relationship between club and player.

Glenn Hoddle, the Spurs manager, is hoping that will be the case with a player who was with Wolves, Coventry, Internazionale in Italy before moving to Elland Road. "When Robbie came here we said that he was going to find a home," Hoddle said. "He'd been drifting a little bit at the tender age of 22. But he's enjoying his football here and if we keep creating chances for him I'm sure he's going to tot up his tally pretty quickly."

What pleased Hoddle most, however, was the way his team responded after seeing Keane's opener in the 58th minute cancelled out within four minutes by a smartly taken equaliser from Bolton's veteran French World Cup forward Youri Djorkaeff, who drove the ball home from a narrow angle after being set free by Kevin Nolan's finely judged chip. "That was the difference between last season and this," Hoddle said. "So many times last year we created lots of chances but didn't kill teams off. We let them come back and never responded. But we have shown this season, in games like our home match against West Ham, and against Blackburn in our last game, that we can finish the job. That's a good sign."

Hoddle, however, rejected the idea that his men had made a dream start to the season, and stressed that there could not be any repeat of the recent 3-0 defeat at home to Middlesbrough which had jolted the team out of their early impetus. "That performance mustn't come along again," he said. "But we have got a lot of talent that is becoming available to us once again, and we will go to Liverpool next week with a lot of belief."

Belief, not to mention relief, surged through the side yesterday as Keane finally found the means of converting their abundant enterprise. When the moment arrived, it was contrived in classic Spurs fashion – Jamie Redknapp, elegantly relevant throughout, supplied Goran Bunjevcevic on the left, and his raking ball across to Simon Davies allowed the Welshman to drive in a near-post cross which Keane darted home.

Djorkaeff's response stilled the home jubilation shortly afterwards, but Tottenham – New Tottenham? – were not to be denied and in the 72nd minute they restored their lead when Gus Poyet, who had taken to the pitch just two minutes earlier for his first appearance of the season following a knee injury, drifted to the right wing and supplied another near-post cross from which the eager Keane profited.

Davies, a goalscoring hero for Wales in their midweek Italian job, completed the Bolton job with an angled drive following a pass from Teddy Sheringham, who might have had a hat-trick himself with sharper finishing.

Keane's form, however, meant that did not matter too much to a side which also benefited enormously from welcoming back Stephen Carr for his first full match for over a year following injury. The Irishman, who plays with something of the dark-eyed intensity of his compatriot Roy Keane, was tigerishly effective in defence and might have marked his return with a goal after a right-foot drive in the 49th minute that flew off Jaaskelainen's gloves and deflected away off the crossbar.

Bolton's day might have been different had Michael Ricketts, sent clear in the 53rd minute by Djorkaeff, not pulled his shot wide. The opening came after Spurs had contrived to miss three excellent chances, and it was a crucial failure.

Hoddle believes Bolton have the necessary talent to survive in the top flight. Bolton's manager, Sam Allardyce, who has seen his men take just one point from their last five matches, is less obviously optimistic. "We are in a precarious position," he said. "It looks bleak."

Tottenham Hotspur 3
Keane 58, 74, Davies 90

Bolton Wanderers 1
Djorkaeff 63

Half-time: 0-0 Attendance: 35,909

Tottenham Hotspur (4-4-2): Keller 7; Carr 8, Perry 7, Richards 6, Bunjevcevic 7; Davies 8, Freund 5, Redknapp 7, Etherington 7 (Poyet, 70, 7); Sheringham 6, Keane 8. Substitutes not used: Hirschfeld (gk), Docherty, Iversen, Acimovic.

Bolton Wanderers (4-4-2): Jaaskelainen 6; Barness 5, Bergsson 7, Whitlow 6, Charlton 5; Nolan 5, Campo 5 (Holdsworth, 76, 5), Farrelly 5, Gardner 7; Djorkaeff 7 (Okocha, 73, 4), Ricketts 5. Substitutes not used: Poole (gk), Frandsen, Armstrong.

Referee: P Durkin (Dorset) 7.

Bookings: None. Sendings-off: None

Man of the match: Keane.