LONDON STALLING
A night of frustration for capital rivals as Antonio misses big chance & Spurs stutter in bid for CL spot
as missed opportunities go, it was hard to work out which was worse.
West Ham striker Michail Antonio missed a gilt-edged chance to win it for David Moyes’ men after another turbulent week in the soap opera at the London Stadium.
But it was also two points dropped for Ange Postecoglou’s men, who have yet to nail down a Champions League place, with Aston Villa and Manchester United still very much in the mix.
Tottenham have not won at West Ham in their last four visits and their last victory at their London rivals came in Jose Mourinho’s first game in charge in November 2019. Spurs have come a long way under Postecoglou but it does feel as if they are limping over the line as the season draws to a close.
West Ham are in a similar position but there is still nothing their supporters like more than to upset their rivals.
With the natives getting increasingly restless and frustrated, after the Hammers threw away a 3-1 lead to lose 4-3 at Newcastle on Saturday, the visit of Spurs could have been seen one of two ways.
A chance for redemption or an unforgivable defeat at the hands of West Ham’s fiercest rivals.
One thing is for sure, the pressure is building on Moyes and even the most recent achievements have long been forgotten by a large section of supporters. The heady days of European glory and open-top bus parades seem a long time ago as West Ham only ever look a couple of defeats away from a crisis.
And the fans genuinely seem torn over whether to stick or twist. Unfortunately, the start to the game definitely would not have helped them make up their minds. The visitors made a fast start and were ahead within five minutes.
Spurs put together a patient build-up before Timo Werner found some space down the left, cut back a low cross and there was Brennan Johnson to fire home from close range (right).
Soon after, captain Heung-min Son saw a shot well saved by West Ham keeper Lukasz Fabianski and the visitors looked in complete control with Rodrigo Bentancur running midfield.
But, almost out of nowhere, West Ham got themselves level after 19 minutes amid some sloppy defending in their opponents’ penalty box.
Jarrod Bowen put over a corner, Antonio blocked off Guglielmo Vicario while Micky van de Ven lost his man and West Ham
defender Kurt Zouma was left free to deflect the ball off his back and into the far corner.
The midfield scrap was also warming up as James Maddison got into a petulant little battle with Lucas Paqueta.
The West Ham midfielder smashed into Maddison, the Spurs star refused a handshake, and the pair had a ding-dong battle for the rest of the game.
Paqueta looks a class apart and the Brazil international has an edge to his game which is yet another reason why big clubs will be circling again this summer.
Paqueta was at the heart of everything and it was his challenge on Maddison on the edge of his own box which sparked an incredible let-off for the visitors. Tottenham screamed for a foul which was not given, James Ward-prowse then played a long ball over the top to release Antonio, and Van de Ven slipped to let in the West Ham No.9.
But Antonio spurned a golden opportunity by firing straight at Vicario, even if the Spurs keeper went down early to make it look an even bigger miss.
Ultimately, that was the last big chance as the London derby ended with frustration in equal measure.
West Ham: Fabianski 6, Coufal 6, Mavropanos 6, Zouma 7, Emerson 7, Ward-prowse 6, Soucek 6, Bowen 7, motm Paqueta 8, Kudus 7, Antonio 6 tottenham: Vicario 6, Porro 6, Romero 6, Van de Ven 6, Udogie 6, Bentancur 7 (Sarr 70, 6),
Bissouma 6 (Hojbjerg 82), Johnson 7 (Lo Celso 90), Maddison 7
(Kulusevski 70, 6), Werner 7 (Richarlison 82), Son 7