Aaron Lennon kept up Tottenham's 100% start to the season as he grabbed his side's winner at West Ham.

Lennon cut inside defender Jonathan Spector and angled a powerful left-footed strike into the far corner.

West Ham had taken the lead when Carlton Cole scored with a spectacular 22-yard strike on the turn.

But Jermain Defoe levelled when he smashed in after latching on to Cole's horrendous backpass, and Lennon's late goal sealed three points for Spurs.

It is the first time in 49 years that Tottenham have won their first three league games of the season - and during that 1960/61 campaign the Londoners took victory in their first 11 games on their way to claiming the old First Division title.

The win also gave extra credence to belief in some quarters that they are good enough to break into the top four and challenge for a Champions League place, particularly as they had to come from a goal down at Upton Park to earn three points from a testing encounter.

Spurs certainly had an air of confidence and authority about them as they stroked the ball around trying to unlock the Hammers defence but found their London rivals in resolute mood.

West Ham may be a work in progress and not as established as the Spurs side but they have a similar style.

Both teams like to pass the ball around and complement some of their more cultured stars with a midfield enforcer - Scott Parker biting into tackles for the Hammers and Wilson Palacios doing the same for Tottenham.

Cole should have put the hosts ahead a lot sooner than he did but he had a tame shot saved after being put through on goal - although there was a suspicion he was offside.

Sebastien Bassong poked a shot wide at the other end, and Ledley King looped a header against the crossbar from a Luka Modric free-kick as Spurs tried to gain the upper hand.

King had to be at his defensive best to block a Jack Collison shot after Cole had held the ball up and laid it into the path of his team-mate.

England striker Cole was producing a mixed performance and he left Hammers fans shaking their heads when he failed to react quickly enough to tap in a Junior Stanislas' low cross.

But Cole struck a spectacular opener to atone for that miss as he flicked the ball up and smashed in a shot on the turn.

The West Ham striker's effort would have impressed watching England manager Fabio Capello, but he then ruined his performance with a shocking mistake.

Cole's misplaced pass put rival forward Defoe clean through on goal and the in-form Spurs man powered in a shot for his fourth Premier League goal of the season.

Jimenez had a header scrambled away by Spurs keeper Carlo Cudicini as the game opened up but it was the visitors who looked the more accomplished.

A feature of Spurs' play this season has been the way they have applied pressure high up the pitch.

And their pressure told when Lennon, who had drifted in and out of the match, arrowed in a shot to put Spurs top of the table on goal difference.

West Ham manager Gianfranco Zola: "When you play well and lose like we did you are disappointed.

"You can't afford to make any mistakes, especially against teams like Spurs.

"The first goal was a creation from Carlton Cole. He made a mistake but he is an intelligent guy and I think it will make him better in the future."

Tottenham boss Harry Redknapp: "To come back from 1-0 down, it was a big win for us.

"It's early doors and a great start but that's all. We just have to keep going and see where that takes us.

"We have Birmingham, Manchester United and Chelsea coming up so we have got some hard games. It will be interesting to see how we shape up."