If there’s one thing you can usually rely on West Ham for – and there really is only one thing – it’s a decent performance against Tottenham.
Even in the halcyon days of Mauricio Pochettino’s tenure, Spurs only won half their fixtures against their bubble-happy neighbours with six victories, four losses and two draws in all competitions.
Going back a little further, Spurs lost all three of their meetings against the Hammers in league and cup during their last great banter season under Andre Villas-Boas and Tim Sherwood.
Sam Allardyce was in the opposite dugout but, on derby day, West Ham’s football was practically Brazilian, not least when Ravel Morrison did his best Rivaldo impression and dribbled 50-odd yards to score at White Hart Lane.
Even when they are otherwise on their knees, Mark Noble and Co need only see a navy blue cockerel on a white background and, more often than not, they drag themselves up off the canvas and start swinging.
Even when everything else is malfunctioning – red lights flashing, alarm bells wailing and black smoke pouring out of the defective West Ham machine – a raw desire to beat Spurs still seems to be programmed into them.
The early signs here suggested that West Ham were as motivated as ever and, coming into the game outside the relegation zone on goal difference alone, they had good reason to be.
Derbies seem especially strange behind closed doors but, even without a raucous away end to galvanise them and with lone voices echoing eerily round the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium instead, the visitors were spiky and industrious.
The first half was essentially London derby bingo: there were 10 fouls, scattered bookings and, even though it remained goalless, an air of manic energy.
Pablo Fornals was cautioned for a lunge on Serge Aurier, Noble picked up his customary yellow card for pulling back Giovani Lo Celso and Lukasz Fabianski made a string of saves to keep out Lucas Moura, Harry Kane and Dele Alli.
Defensively all over the place when the two sides met at the London Stadium back in November, West Ham were much better organised and largely contained Spurs as a threat.
There were warning signs just before half-time, Son Heung-min slashing the ball into the back of the net only to be denied by VAR for offside and, minutes later, Moura getting into a great position in the middle of the box only to side-foot Ben Davies’s neat delivery wide.
Spurs started the second half brightly, forcing West Ham to retreat further and further into their own half to the point that Eric Dier was able to lumber forward from deep and curl an ambitious effort around the post.
Premier goals has scored West Ham came back at them, Fornals catching Spurs’ backline flat-footed when he sprinted onto a clever cross from Jarrod Bowen only to scuff the finish horribly.
The pendulum swung back the other way, Kane whipping a shot just over the crossbar from outside the box.
Still a snappy physical contest, the tempo of the game was noticeably faster and it was suddenly end-to-end stuff. Declan Rice slalomed through the lines and saw a dangerous shot blocked; Kane had a big chance only to drag wide when put through by Lo Celso; Erik Lamela came on as a substitute and immediately dribbled through everyone, hitting the side netting; it was hugely watchable, even though both sides lacked end product.
the fourth player to Premier own goal Miklosko, and League Kane against United Just as they did against Wolves in the first game of the Premier League restart, however, WestHam stuttered midway through the second half. Defending at the set piece, Tomas Soucek allowed the ball to bounce between his legs and could only watch as it bobbled in.
They fought back, Felipe Anderson blasting a howitzer just off target and Bowen hitting the upright not long afterwards. The post made a long, clear sound like a bell which reverberated around the ground, a reminder amidst the frantic action that there was no one in the stands to put their head in their hands.
Jurgen Klopp says he will rotate to freshen up the Liverpool side, but who will come in and who will miss out?https://t.co/tkROp1N9mP pic.twitter.com/k2nu1CwB7m
— i sport (@iPaperSport) June 23, 2020
The game was wrapped up with just under 10 minutes to go, Kane making amends for his earlier misses after he was sent through one-on-one by Son. Where his previous effort had left Mourinho visibly seething, this time the Spurs bench were on their feet, punching the air as he placed the ball expertly beyond Fabianski.
This was certainly not a bad performance from West Ham, even they were run ragged at the death. With the obvious exception of fans, it had all the constituent parts of London derby.
Unfortunately, David Moyes’s side need more than passable performances at this stage with a single goal now the only thing between them and the drop zone.
They need to play with comparable intensity between now and the end the season and up their game even when they don’t have disdain of their old rivals to inspire them.
More on Tottenham
- Daniel Storey: Loyalty the only logical reason for Kane to stay at declining Spurs
- How a new Champions League format could hand Spurs a lucky escape
- Revealed: Spurs overtake Man City as the Premier League’s ‘most valuable club’
- How Mourinho can turn Spurs into title contenders
- Winks exclusive: ‘Xavi and Iniesta comparisons are nice – but I need to improve’
from Football – inews.co.uk https://ift.tt/3hZDp3J
Post a Comment