Preston 1-5 Tottenham

Peter Crouch scored a hat-trick as Tottenham eased past Preston North End to book their place in the fourth round of the Carling Cup.

The England striker prodded in Gareth Bale’s cross before Jermain Defoe added a second with a header after Andy Lonergan could only parry his initial shot.

Crouch slotted in Spurs’ third after the break before Preston substitutes Neil Mellor and Chris Brown combined to give the Championship side hope in the final 10 minutes.

However Tottenham struck twice on the break with Robbie Keane finishing neatly before Crouch completed his hat-trick with an audacious back-heeled volley from Aaron Lennon’s cross.

Alan Irvine’s side had plenty of chances with Ross Wallace causing Alan Hutton plenty of problems, however it was Tottenham’s ruthless finishing that won them the game.

Giovanni Dos Santos rattled the home side’s bar as early as the eighth minute before Crouch put Spurs ahead with a tap in at the back post.

Preston were never over-awed by their top flight opponents though and would have equalised were it not for Heurelho Gomes who thwarted Alan Parkin on two occasions.

Defoe doubled the visitors lead before half-time when he dribbled through the Preston defence before unleashing a fierce shot. Lonergan managed to save but Defoe headed in the rebound.

The home side almost pulled a goal back after the restart but Stephen Jones couldn’t control his shot from Billy Jones’ cross and the ball flew wide.

Harry Redknapp’s side gradually began to control possession and Tom Huddlestone forced a good save from Lonergan with a low drive before sending another effort just wide.

Preston were still able to threaten though with Gomes making an excellent saves from Wallace’s curling free-kick and long-range shot.

The decisive third goal came for Tottenham though with Lennon teeing up Crouch.

Mellor and Brown were introduced immediately and managed to pull a goal back with the former Liverpool striker crossing from the right for his fellow substitute Brown.

However Tottenham extended their lead with Robbie Keane dinking the ball over Lonergan before Crouch completed the rout with a volley from another Lennon cross.