Defoe salvages point for Spurs against Pompey

LONDON: Jermain Defoe scored his first goal since returning to Tottenham Hotspur on Sunday, firing an equalizer in a 1-1 draw against former club Portsmouth to lift his side off the bottom of the Premier League.

Defoe, who joined Portsmouth from Tottenham for 7.5 million pounds ($11.19 million) a year ago and re-joined the London club this month for a reported 15 million pounds, rescued Spurs with a 70th minute strike after David Nugent had put the vistors ahead 11 minutes earlier.

The draw means the five teams at the foot of the table all have 21 points with Spurs moving out of the relegation zone on goal difference at the expense of Middlesbrough while also sending West Bromwich Albion back to the bottom.