Spurs' single release

Tottenham Hotspur, in attacking terms anyway, remain somewhat perplexing. George Graham's side at White Hart Lane can't stop scoring. Away from home, it is a different story, with a return of just six goals from six games, the third poorest record in the Premiership.

Tottenham Hotspur, in attacking terms anyway, remain somewhat perplexing. George Graham's side at White Hart Lane can't stop scoring. Away from home, it is a different story, with a return of just six goals from six games, the third poorest record in the Premiership.

Yesterday the front two of Steffen Iversen and Chris Armstrong were again misfiring, but Oyvind Leonhardsen, with his sixth goal since leaving Liverpool in the summer, ensured that Spurs were able to maintain a solid start to Graham's first full season in charge.

The fact that Stephen Carr - who was absent with an ankle injury he picked up on international duty with the Republic of Ireland in Turkey - is Spurs fourth highest scorer with two goals, adds credence to the argument that Graham needs to find an effective partner for Iversen, sooner rather than later.

Southampton were on something of a roll before this game. That confidence was reflected by Dave Jones' decision to play James Beattie alongside the Latvian Marians Pahars in attack with Trond Soltvedt dropping down to the bench. The Southampton manager, just before the transfer deadline, had bolstered his defence with the acquisition of Jo Tessen, a £600,000 purchase from Molde. The Norwegian, making his debut at right-back, replaced Jason Dodd, who is still recovering from a knee operation.

The Norwegian defender had the job of marking David Ginola, who is due to appear before the Oxford Union on Wednesday. Tessen and Ginola quickly began their own debate, but the Norwegian had the upper hand in the discussions throughout the afternoon.

Southampton's more busy approach, quick passing complemented by rapid movement was countered by Spurs' more minimalist style. That was typified in the 10th minute by Chris Perry's elegant break from the back, pushing the ball forward intelligently for Armstrong, who threaded it through to Iversen, but the Norwegian's shot drifted disappointingly wide.

The former Wimbledon defender was equally influential at the back. His reading of the game was bettered only by the sharpness of his tackling. His defensive resolution was such that for most of the the game Southampton were restricted to long-range efforts, most notably from Mark Hughes and Matthew Oakley.

Within seconds of the restart, Pahars assumed a leading role. The Latvian broke through the Spurs cover and was tackled at the last moment by Leonhardsen. Pahars was up as quickly as he had gone down claiming a penalty but the referee, Steve Bennett, ruled otherwise and booked the Southampton striker for diving.

After 81 minutes, Tottenham took the lead, Sol Campbell knocking down Tim Sherwood's free-kick for Leonhardsen to fire his fierce shot home. Southampton's misery was complete when their Norwegian defender Claus Lundekvam was sent off for a second bookable offence.