Defoe treble seals twin comeback

Trevor Brooking has revealed how a heart-to-heart with Jermain Defoe was the inspiration behind the young striker's first senior hat-trick.

Defoe struck three times to lift West Ham from 2-0 down at Cardiff and send his side into the third round of the Carling Cup with a dramatic 3-2 win.

It was all a far cry from Saturday's miserable defeat at Gillingham when the England Under-21 international was sent off for the first time in his career. Caretaker manager Brooking, who said he "had words" with the 20-year-old following his red card for foul and abusive language to a linesman, was full of praise for the way Defoe responded.

"Jermain came up with the goods and I am delighted that he has claimed the headlines for the right reasons this time," he said.

"You ask the questions and hope for the right response but you have to remember he is still young, and he is a big player in this league. He will be a target, for opposing defenders, fans, the media, and he reacted the wrong way on Saturday. He has learned from that, though. Now he has got to do it consistently, and keep working hard for the team as he did this time."

One person wishing Defoe hadn't bounced back in such style is Cardiff striker Robert Earnshaw. The Welsh international must still be wondering how his rival managed to beat him to the matchball after he had struck twice inside the opening 25 minutes