ROUND-UP Tottenham denied by millimetres in drab draw
SPURS got off the hook after Troy Deeney had his penalty saved by Paulo Gazzaniga and could have snatched a win but for a goalline stop by Watford’s new signing Ignacio Pussetto. A nil-all draw against the relegation-threatened Hornets should have Tottenham fans gunning for manager Jose Mourinho.
But Spurs weren’t that bad.
They were technically nice and fairly ineffective; and they don’t have Harry Kane, of course, a loss that would see any team struggle for goals.
In fairness, they were 10.04mm short of winning. Erik Lamela’s injury-time touch not been hooked off the line by Pussetto, who only come on in the 89th minute.
Meanwhile, Shane Long was on target for Southampton but the Saints let their two-goal lead slip as Wolves won 3-2 at St Mary’s, with VAR their friend for all three goals. Jan Bednarek gave Saints the lead before Long’s header made it 2-0, but Pedro Neto got one back, despite a VAR handball review. After the break Raul Jimenez converted a penalty given after Wolves were originally awarded a corner, while the Mexican got the winner, despite what looked a handball by Adama Traore in the build-up.
A draw was probably a fair result at the London Stadium, since neither West Ham nor Everton deserved to win. It was mediocre, mundane and proof that, while David Moyes and Carlo Ancelotti have inspired improvements, they each have an awfully long way to go.
Issa Diop’s opener for West Ham was the ninth from a dead ball that Everton have conceded this season — but Dominic Calvert-Lewin’s leveller four minutes after Diop’s header, means the Toffees have now taken 10 points from a possible 15 since Ancelotti came in.
Neal Maupay’s greatest mistake at the AMEX Stadium was mocking Jack Grealish’s slicked-back hairstyle, as the Brighton forward turned to the Aston Villa captain and mimicked him in the second half. Grealish got his own back. With a swing of his left boot, Villa avoided a seventh defeat in nine games against a relegation rival. The former Boy in Green had bailed out Pepe Reina, the 37-year-old making a debut blunder as Leandro Trossard opened the scoring for Brighton. He later made up for the error with a fine save from Maupay.
Steve Cook made one of the saves of the season at Carrow Road yesterday, but unfortunately for Bournemouth, he’s a centre back and was promptly sent off for stopping Norwich new boy Ondrej Duda’s shot. Teemu Pukki converted the penalty and Bournemouth could not hit back, even after the odds were evened up when Canaries defender Ben Godfrey saw his yellow upgraded to red after Paul Tierney used a pitchside monitor to check a challenge on Callum Wilson.
The win gives bottom side Norwich a boost but Bournemouth are in real trouble having lost four on the spin.