Jermain Defoe of Tottenham Hotspur scored a hat-trick at Elland Road to help Harry Redknapp’s side overcome Leeds and book a place in the FA Cup fifth round with a 3-1 win on Wednesday.

England striker Defoe missed a host of good chances but still managed to come up trumps for the Premier League side with strikes in the 37th and 73rd minutes before putting the result beyond all doubt in the fourth minute of stoppage time to take his tally for the season to 22 goals.

Luciano Becchio had equalised for Leeds on the stroke of half-time as Simon Grayson’s League One side threatened to pull off another shock in front of a partisan home crowd.

But Defoe secured a trip for Tottenham to top-flight rivals Bolton in the last 16 and kill-off the Cup dreams of Leeds, who had knocked Manchester United at Old Trafford out of the competition in stunning style in the previous round.

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