The difference between the sides was purely down to finishing. The game was played at a leisurely pace with only Defoe and substitute Lennon injecting any pace and even that was very rarely.
Spurs sat back and played on the break allowing Preston's midfield to spray the ball around to good effect.
The game was riddled with mistakes all the way through with Gomes gifting the ball away in the first minute only for Parkin to shoot wide. Dos Santos then hit the bar before Crouch opened the coring. The tall frontman was left unmarked at the back post and had an easy tap in. Chilvers seemed to fear Crouch for the first twenty minutes as he just allowed Crouch to win every header without challenge.
Preston created chances all game as did Spurs. Parkin was denied on a couple of occassions by Gomes. Wallace had a free kick well saved by the Tottenham keeper as well as a superb shot. Elliott also wasted easier chances and Preston could not breach the Spurs back line until it was too late.
The game was effectively sealed before the break when a Defoe shot was well saved by Lonergan but the rebound dropped nicely for Defoe to head home.
Chances went begging for both sides before Crouch slotted home his second although he looked well offside in the build up to the goal. Substitute Brown tapped in a Preston consolation before Spurs substitute, Robbie Keane slid home a fourth before Crouch completed his hat trick.
Preston now have to recover quickly before their trip to Leicester on Saturday where there will be changes.