LONDON STADIUM — It seemed rather fitting that while Harry Kane’s defending was at fault for West Ham’s match-winning goal, Michail Antonio displayed the innate instincts that only a striker possesses to score it.
While Kane dropped ever deeper as the game continued, desperately trying to find the ball, Antonio spent the match bouncing around Tottenham’s defenders like they were inside a particularly aggressive pinball machine. In the final few minutes, he even showed off his immense strength by keeping three of them away from the ball in a corner of the London Stadium pitch to see out the victory.
But has Harry Kane become? What is Harry Kane at the moment? A striker trying to evolve into a No 10 as he ages? Just how jaded has that embarrassing failed escape attempt in the summer from Daniel Levy’s personal Alcatraz made him?
Antonio spent the first half doing what strikers do — what they used to do, anyway: winning headers, thudding into opponents, holding onto the ball until team-mates joined in.
At this stage of the game at the conclusion of West Ham attacks were always a misplaced final pass, a shot skewed wide, a header inches the wrong side of the post. But what it had the effect of doing was forcing Spurs further back, starve their forwards of possession, sucking Kane slowly towards the end of the pitch where he shouldn’t really be.
Kane’s header in the 44th minute — making good contact after a well-timed run-up that Lukasz Fabianski pushed over the crossbar — was his only touch in West Ham’s penalty area in the entire first half.
It should be hard to criticise a striker who has scored 10 goals in 16 games. But Kane’s have come against decidedly weaker opponents: Newcastle, three against Slovenian side NS Mura, Wolves, Poland, Andorra, Hungary and Pacos Ferreira — a side mid-table in the Portuguese Liga.
And though Spurs did not have a shot in the second half, Tottenham manager Nuno Espirito Santo claimed, nonetheless, that his were the better side and blamed the defeat on West Ham defending in numbers.
“West Ham defend in the box with a lot of men,” Nuno said. “There was not much space, we should have moved the ball faster, got into wide areas, but it’s always difficult when all the men are behind the ball to find spaces and gaps.”
A somewhat harsh and unfair assessment but fair play to David Moyes: a bit of a joke figure when he was reappointed as West Ham manager in 2019 who has transformed them into a top-half side competing for Europe and well capable of competing against a club like Spurs.
The Scot described his approach as manager to “growing the characters” in the team, citing Kurt Zouma who they signed from Chelsea in the summer. “If you look at where these boys were a few years ago they’ve all blossomed,” he said.
“They’re feeling important, feeling as though they can make a difference. The club West Ham is blossoming now.”
However, how much all of this is reliant on Declan Rice will only truly be clear when the midfielder inevitably leaves. Rice is a phenomenal and phenomenal fun to watch: a central midfielder who makes defending look easy, appears to actually enjoy it, who seems to play every game as though he is having a laugh with his mates in a freezing Wednesday evening five-a-side on floodlit astroturf. A player in his position could easily be underwhelming — or go unnoticed — but Rice is partial to a cheeky nutmeg, or a surprising turn of pace to beat a full-back on the wing.
Whether or not it was intentional, his run to the near-post for Aaron Cresswell’s corner caused enough confusion in Tottenham’s defence for Antonio to score the game’s only goal. Lucas Moura followed Rice and leapt meekly, the ball flew over the Brazilian’s head and dropped dangerously. Kane was supposed to be marking Antonio but switched off. He simply didn’t appear to want the ball as much as Antonio, who fought his way towards the delivery and threw anything at it — it didn’t matter what — to divert it in.
In fact, that moment could be used to sum up both teams in this game. West Ham seemed to want it more.
from Football – inews.co.uk https://ift.tt/3Bnk70Z
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