Spurs narrowly beat West Ham in a typically competitive London derby that took an hour to come to life - but then threw up five goals, a penalty and a red card.

With the game seemingly heading for a draw, Anthony Gardner's deflected shot deceived Hammers keeper David James to take Tottenham back to second place in the table, a point behind arch rivals Arsenal.

Twice before Gardner's goal, Spurs had taken the lead, through Simon Davies and a Teddy Sheringham penalty, only for West Ham to get themselves back in the game thanks to Frederic Kanoute and Trevor Sinclair.

Spurs' penalty had arrived courtesy of some clever footwork from debutant Robbie Keane, which resulted in Ian Pearce's dismissal after he had brought down the Republic of Ireland striker.

The defeat means West Ham have made their worst start to the season for 40 years, with Glenn Roeder's side rooted to the bottom of the Premiership table, still without a win and just a single point from five games.

The match provided plenty of typical derby fare - lots of running, committed tackles, but precious little composure to assist the digestive process.

Early on West Ham lost Tomas Repka, who hobbled off the pitch after a challenge with Jamie Redknapp.

Repka was later joined on the sidelines by Chris Perry, who was stretchered off after bravely tackling Kanoute.

In between the tackles, stretchers and cards, West Ham initially were content to sit back and soak up Spurs' sporadic attacks, with Matthew Etherington and Christian Ziege seeing plenty of the ball on the left.

Then Spurs debutant Keane took centre stage cleverly flicking the ball over Pearce, who tripped the Republic of Ireland striker in panic.

Referee Uriah Rennie dismissed Pearce, before Sheringham calmly tucked away the penalty.

West Ham refused to buckle and Di Canio's beautifully delivered free-kick released Sinclair, who poked the ball past Kasey Keller.

And as the game entered its closing stages, Gardner strode forward to send his shot, via Breen's legs, past James.

Tottenham: Keller, Taricco (Thatcher 45), Ziege, Gardner, Perry (Doherty 32), Davies, Redknapp, Bunjevcevic, Etherington (Iversen 85), Sheringham, Keane.
Subs Not Used: Hirschfeld, Acimovic.

Booked: Bunjevcevic, Redknapp.

West Ham: James, Repka (Winterburn 10), Dailly, Breen, Pearce, Lomas, Sinclair, Cisse, Cole, Di Canio (Carrick 79), Kanoute (Defoe 85).
Subs Not Used: Van Der Gouw, Camara.

Sent Off: Pearce (70).

Booked: Sinclair, Kanoute.

Attendance: 36,005.

Referee: U Rennie (S Yorkshire).