Tottenham Hotspur's disastrous start to the season continued with a 2-0 loss away to Portsmouth in their last league match, leaving the London club firmly at the foot of the league table.

Jermain Defoe opened the scoring for Portsmouth four minutes past the half hour mark while Peter Crouch doubled the lead midway through the second half as the Spurs fans chanted against Juande Ramos for the first time since he was installed as the Spurs manager.

Tottenham looked out of sorts throughout the match as Portsmouth started the game in a cautious fashion after conceding 10 goals in their last two matches. Spurs failed to test the fragile Portsmouth defense, allowing the hosts to settle down before taking control of the game.

Defoe looked to have made a dream start against his former club when he put the ball in the net as early as in the third minute but his effort was ruled out for offside. Heurelho Gomes pulled off a brilliant one handed save to deny Richard Hughes as Pompey stepped up the pressure on the visitors.

Spurs finally cracked in the 34th minute when Jermaine Jenas handled a free kick from Glen Little inside the penalty area and Defoe stepped up and slotted the ball past Gomes to score in the first meeting against his former club.

The visitors tried to stage a comeback in the second half but though they had a majority of the possession, they were unable to create any chances as David James spent a relatively comfortable time in the Pompey goal.

The match was over by the 68th minute when Crouch was quick to react to a rebound from Armand Traore's shot to tap in his second goal for Portsmouth since completing a move from Liverpool. There was some late drama as Pompey were reduced to 10 men when Diarra received a red card in the 88th minute but the game was over by then as Pompey and James celebrated a clean sheet after letting in 10 goals in their last two games.