Tottenham Hotspur and West Ham played out a 1-1 draw at the London Stadium for the second successive season on Sunday afternoon, with first-half goals from Wilson Odobert and Jarrod Bowen sharing the spoils.
Well, this is the kind of result you might expect against Nottingham Forest or Crystal Palace, not West Ham, who are a bit more adventurous going forward. But with a potential European final looming, most Spurs fans won’t be losing sleep over a point in East London.
In fact, there weren’t too many groans about the lineup either; the opposite of what’s happening lately under Ange Postecoglou. The Tottenham boss made eight changes from the side that started the semi-final, and while this so-called ‘second team’ arguably should’ve had enough to beat West Ham, it was a generally sluggish showing from both sides.
Let’s have a look at our West Ham 1-1 Tottenham Hotspur match report.
First half: West Ham 1-1 Tottenham Hotspur
It was a quiet opening ten minutes for Spurs, with West Ham the livelier side early on. Aaron Wan-Bissaka frequently found joy down the right flank, but the Kevin Danso-led defence kept things tidy.
Spurs took the lead in the 15th minute thanks to sharp pressing from Mathys Tel, who nicked the ball off Kilman and quickly squared it to Wilson Odobert. The winger stayed composed and slotted it past Areola to put the visitors ahead.
A few minutes later, Guglielmo Vicario had a heart-in-mouth moment when his left-footed pass landed right at Soucek’s feet. Luckily for Spurs, the West Ham man’s powerless effort went straight back to Vicario.
MORE SPURS STORIES
Tel then fancied himself from a free kick just outside the box. Rather than curling it into the danger area, he channelled his inner Toni Kroos but the result was more Raheem Sterling-esque.
It was then Spurs’ chance to do some horrible defending and the Hammers got their equaliser. Wan-Bissaka picked out Bowen with a perfectly timed pass. The West Ham forward ghosted past Djed Spence and Ben Davies, before nutmegging Vicario to make it 1-1.
Soon, a running Richarlison fired over after connecting with Spence’s low cross, and then came the real missed chance. Tel found Richarlison with a lovely through ball, but the Brazilian bizarrely squared it across the face of goal instead of shooting. Odobert wasn’t expecting it, and the ghost of Brennan Johnson loomed over that moment. Richie – wrong time to be generous.
Second half: West Ham 1-1 Tottenham Hotspur
If the first 45 minutes were boring, the second resumed just the way the first ended.
Tel got the first shot on target, played in smartly by Pape Matar Sarr, but the Frenchman’s effort was tame and straight at Areola.
Mohammed Kudus and Soucek tried their luck from distance, but both attempts were blocked before they could trouble. Richarlison had one last pop, meeting Dejan Kulusevski‘s knockdown from a Tel cross, but blazed over before being replaced by Mikey Moore.
Lucas Paqueta was seen crying after being shown a yellow card. No one really knows why, but the cameras made sure we didn’t miss it.
West Ham nearly found the winner when Kudus whipped in a brilliant cross for Bowen, whose volley curled the wrong way.
On the other end, Sarr let fly from outside the box with a strike that whistled over – with Areola maybe getting a fingertip to it.
Vicario, however, made the standout save. Bowen’s glancing header from a well-struck James Ward-Prowse free kick was bound for the net, but the Italian keeper clawed it away brilliantly.
There was still time for late drama although there weren’t any signs of it. Archie Gray almost turned into his own net while defending, and Ward-Prowse ended the match with a thumping free kick that had everyone on edge – but was off-target.
The xG ended 1.11 to 0.48 in the hosts’ favour. Not one for the scrapbook, but not a disaster either. (FotMob)
SpursWeb Man of the match: Kevin Danso
What’s next for Spurs?
This wasn’t exactly a high-octane clash, but it did the job. The goal was likely to avoid injuries and give minutes to the younger players and the second team – and Spurs achieved that.
So, the ‘El Clasico of 16th place’ ended in a stalemate though Spurs remain above West Ham, who sit 17th. There were some positives: Danso barely put a foot wrong, Odobert and Tel showed flashes of their French chemistry, and that save from Vicario should’ve lifted his confidence after a run of poor form.
Next up? The second leg of the UEFA Europa League semi-final away to Bodo/Glimt on Thursday.