IRISH captain Robbie Keane's first-half penalty gave Tottenham a deserved win to keep Martin Jol's side on course for a place in next season's Champions League.

Keane scored after he was hauled back by Everton defender Alan Stubbs. Spurs' victory margin should have been greater against a poor Everton side, with keeper Richard Wright denying Jermaine Jenas and Jermain Defoe. Defoe also struck the bar in the second half in front of watching England boss Sven-Goran Eriksson.

Spurs gave a rare start to Defoe alongside Keane, with Mido ruled out with a groin injury. And they dominated the first 45 minutes against an Everton side who appeared to be running down the clock on a mixed campaign. The only surprise was that it took Spurs 33 minutes to break the deadlock, with Keane scoring from the spot after he had been dragged back by Stubbs.

Spurs made a switch at half-time with former Liverpool midfield man Danny Murphy coming on for Teemu Tainio. Everton's muchmaligned keeper Wright kept his side in contention with a brilliant double save three minutes after the break. He dived to his right to deny Jermaine Jenas, then made a miraculous point-blank stop from Defoe after Gary Naysmith had inexplicably turned the ball into his path only six yards out.

Spurs were guilty of wasting opportunities to score the crucial second goal, and Keane fired wastefully over the top with only Wright to beat after he was played in by Murphy. Everton were still making little impression on the Spurs defence, and boss David Moyes introduced Duncan Ferguson for Simon Davies after 66 minutes.

Defoe almost gave Spurs the second goal they deserved with 18 minutes left, but his curling finish bounced back off the bar with Wright beaten. However, they had already done enough for the win.