Tottenham were held to a dire 1-1 draw by West Ham at the London Stadium
Wilson Odobert made an early breakthrough before Jarrod Bowen equalised
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Even against a Tottenham second string with their minds on Europe, Graham Potter needed Jarrod Bowen to come to his rescue again.
Hammers captain Bowen slotted home his 10th league goal of the season to level after Wilson Odobert gave Ange Postecoglou's side an early lead at the London Stadium.
James Ward-Prowse almost provided a dramatic finish, though, inches away from scoring a stoppage free-kick that would have drawn him level with David Beckham.
There was also a bizarre situation when West Ham midfielder Lucas Paqueta appeared to burst into tears after he received a yellow card in the second half for a foul on Spurs substitute Mikey Moore.
Paqueta remains the subject an FA spot-fixing investigation into four previous bookings for the club with the result of his hearing pushed back until the summer.
Postecoglou has long cast any Premier League ambitions to the scrapheap. Six defeats in their last eight before this, conceding five to Liverpool, two to Nottingham Forest and another four to Wolves in their last three with their only victory in that run against relegated Southampton.
All eyes, all hearts, are on Thursday night and their two-goal advantage heading into the second leg of their Europa League semi-final against Bodo/Glimt and the potential of a first European final in six years.
If that means a possibility of a lowest top-flight finish since 1977 when they were relegated then so be it.
Postecoglou made eight changes to the side that beat Bodo/Glimt in the first leg with only goalkeeper Guglielmo Vicario, Yves Bissouma and Richarlison keeping their place.
And even then West Ham couldn't beat them as their winless run extended to eight games.
If the mood wasn't already bad enough inside the London Stadium, it took the Tottenham stiffs just 15 minutes to go in front – and from a situation that appeared to hold no danger at all.
A hopeful long ball forward into the channel looked routine for Max Kilman to sweep up but the £40million summer signing made a hash of clearing his lines, booted the ball twice against Mathys Tel and eventually gifting possession to the Spurs winger.
Tel squared the ball into the box past Aaron Cresswell to an unmarked Wilson Odobert who had the time to take a touch, pick his spot and finish past Alphonse Areola to score his first Premier League goal for the club.
Yves Bissouma and Dejan Kulusevski are the only two who started here expected to do so again in Norway on Thursday night but if there was anyone in Postecoglou's jumbled pack who staked a claim it was Tel.
The French forward, on loan from Bayern Munich, looked sharp every time he got the ball. He bamboozled Jean-Clair Todibo to earn a dangerous free-kick in the first half, breezed past him again to force a save in the second, and split the West Ham defence with a fine pass to Richarlison after Paqueta gave the ball away but the Spurs striker had no one waiting when he pulled the ball back in front of goal.
The opening goal summed up the often calamitous defending that's blighted much of West Ham's season and the throes of empty seats around the London Stadium for a derby encapsulated the apathy among a fanbase who cannot wait for the season to end and the summer overhaul to begin.
Potter refused to talk of any positives after the Brighton capitulation when the usually calm and collected coach let his frustrations boil over in his post-match press conference – he was so angry that he almost swore! – but there have been a few if you choose to look hard enough.
Aaron Wan-Bissaka, another summer arrival, has exceeded expectations, especially in attack. A defender renowned for being solid in the tackle but with little beyond the halfway line, Wan-Bissaka has thrived as a key threat in Potter's wing-back system.
Whenever West Ham had possession, they looked to find Wan-Bissaka down the right and it was the former Manchester United full back who was key to the hosts levelling on 28 minutes.
Wan-Bissaka slipped in Bowen, making a run beyond the defensive line, and the captain slotted the ball neatly between Guglielmo Vicario's legs from a narrow angle. Something to cheer about at last and, for once, meant the half-time whistle could blow without boos to greet it.
Bowen has long been the man to save the day for West Ham and the club will entertain no offers for their captain in the summer, whose contract runs until 2030. Where would they be without the top scorer.
He had chances to win it in the second half, too, as he lashed an effort wide from a Mohammed Kudus cross at the back post before seeing his header from Ward-Prowse's free-kick clawed away from the line by Vicario.
MATCH FACTS
West Ham (3-4-2-1): Areola, Todibo (Coufal, 80), Kilman, Cresswell (Mavropanos, 88), Wan-Bissaka, Soucek (Soler, 80), Paqueta (Ward-Prowse, 80), Emerson, Bowen, Kudus, Fullkrug (Ferguson, 80)
Subs not used: Fabianski, Guilherme, Ings, Rodriguez
Goals: Bowen 28
Booked: Kudus, Paqueta
Manager: Graham Potter
Tottenham (4-3-3): Vicario, Gray, Danso, Davies, Spence, Kulusevski, Sarr, Bissouma, Odobert, Richarlison (Moore, 68), Tel
Subs not used: Udogie, Romero, Johnson, Porro, Bentancur, Kinsky, van de Ven, Ajayi
Goals: Odobert 15
Booked: Davies, Tel
Manager: Ange Postecoglou
It's likely to be the Ghanaian winger who funds Potter's summer overhaul with the club ready to accept offers in the region of £85million and he created another good chance when he wriggled his way past three Spurs defenders before dinking the ball into the box where Fullkrug headed over.
West Ham should really have won it – and they so nearly did with Ward-Prowse inches away from ruining Beckham's 50th birthday weekend.