Conte VAR fury after Hammers strike back

This London derby for the realists came with evidence that West ham are not nearly as bad as their early results might have suggested and Tottenham are not quite the finished article.

Which is more or less what their two managers have been at pains to point out. Antonio Conte told spurs fans to dream but not without requisite warnings about the long road ahead and room for improvement.

David Moyes has been trying to lift spirits following defeats by Nottingham Forest and Brighton by hailing an exciting future for the hammers after a busy summer in the transfer market.

some of those expensive recruits were on display, including £54million playmaker Lucas Paqueta, who came on for his debut and offered flashes of his class. he also endeared himself to his new public by picking up a yellow card for booting Richarlison, his fellow Brazilian, whose appearance from the spurs bench coincided with a marked deterioration in cordiality.

it was one of Moyes’ old warriors, however, who rescued a point. Tomas soucek ( below) struck for the hosts after they had slipped behind to a first-half own goal scored by Thilo Kehrer.

West ham were the better team for large parts of the contest and pushed hard for a winner. The home crowd roared their team on, and Jarrod Bowen was agonisingly close with a volley at full stretch from a tight angle in stoppage time, but spurs rode their luck to remain unbeaten.

The game was barely 10 minutes old when controversy was stirred into the usual derby mix. ivan Perisic crossed and harry Kane climbed at the back post, heading the ball into the arms of Aaron Cresswell as he challenged.

immediately, referee Peter Bankes pointed to the spot but VAR stuart Attwell put the brakes

on proceedings. it took four minutes before Attwell advised Bankes to consult the pitchside monitor.

Then Bankes saw what Attwell had seen. Kane’s header struck Cresswell on the head first and then deflected onto his arms and the referee revised his decision. Who knows why it took so long?

‘To make a mistake behind the monitor is incredible and difficult to accept,’ fumed Conte, claiming Cresswell had spread his arms deliberately.

‘The VAR embarrassed the referee, to make him change the right decision was strange. in England you have to learn much more to use VAR in the right way. study well and be more accurate.’

Moyes accepted the incident proved a turning point because his team improved after the long interruption.

‘VAR hasn’t always gone in our favour but tonight it helped us,’ said the West ham boss. ‘We didn’t start well and it gave us a jolt, a chance to go again.’

hugo Lloris had already denied Pablo Fornals and made another fine save to beat away a volley from Declan Rice. Then Michail Antonio curled a shot against a post. West ham were on top and playing with confidence, which can be perilous against Conte’s team, seldom more menacing than when playing out of defence on the turnover of possession. And so it proved. Eleven minutes before the interval, Rice charged forward but Eric Dier stepped in, won the ball and spurs sprang out. Dejan Kulusevski led the counter, finding Kane on a well-timed overlap on the right. Kane’s cross was bound for son heungmin when Kehrer intervened and turned it into his own net.

Once ahead, spurs can be difficult to unpick, but West ham generated a quicker tempo at the start of the second half and were soon level from a quick throw-in, turned on to soucek by Antonio.

The Czech took one touch on his left thigh and smashed his second past Lloris on the half-volley with his right foot. it was a fabulous goal and no more than Moyes’ team deserved.

With the crowd up and the stage set, Moyes sent on Paqueta and finished with a flurry, but there would be no winning goal.

And, ultimately, nothing between these London rivals.