Resilience is a word that David Moyes likes to use when talking about his West Ham team but previously, it was more a lack of it rather than actually showing it.
Sunday’s 3-3 draw against Spurs showed that the manager might actually be on to something when he talked about how his team “plugged away” to secure that incredible and dramatic point at Tottenham Hotspur.
Manuel Lanzini’s 94th minute thunderbolt stole the headlines, rightly, as West Ham became the first team in Premier League history to come from three goals down to secure a draw later than the 81st minute of a match.
West Ham and resilient didn’t belong in the same sentence after the opening 16 minutes in north London at the weekend as Harry Kane’s double and Son Heung-min’s opener had the hosts in cruise control. West Ham were all over the shop, overrun in midfield and playing comedy capers in defence.
But, as Moyes pointed out post-match, West Ham stuck to their task once they got their heads in the game. They picked up results against Wolves and Leicester in the two previous games that were no fluke, winning 4-0 and 3-0 against arguably the two best teams outside of the traditional “big four.”
The Hammers manager said after the exhilarating draw: “What we said to our players was if we got the first goal, lets see how it goes. Let's see how we can play after it. Our players were well aware that if we made it 3-1 then we could get a second.
“It is more about how we played, what we done, but the goals were very good goals. Tottenham in the first 15 minutes were really hot, but we kept plugging away.
"We said if we got one goal, we will see where it goes.”
West Ham created chances, Pablo Fornals spurning a glorious one but they eventually got their just rewards when Fabian Balbuena headed Aaron Cresswell’s pinpoint free kick past Hugo Llloris. West Ham gained confidence from there.
Three minutes later Vladimir Coufal, who looks a much more solid and rounded option than Ryan Fredericks at right back, crossed and Davinson Sanchez diverted into his own net. Then came Lanzini’s outrageous winner to secure an unlikely draw.
Moyes went wild on the pitch. So did West Ham’s players as they ran to celebrate with Lanzini, who has struggled for game time since he was jeered off against Liverpool back in late January.
Aside from the aberration against Newcastle on the opening day when Moyes’ side were caught cold, they have shown resilience alongside quality in the Premier League outings. Sure, we didn’t expect *that* when they went 3-0 down on Sunday but it’s a sign of the tide that is changing with Moyes at the helm.
The Scot is often criticised for being outdated tactics wise but, aside from the first 15 minutes on Sunday, has found something with this group of players that seems to suit them. They have scored ten goals in their last three matches, conceded only those three in north London and as Jose Mourinho put it on Sunday, a far better team than the one he took over from Manuel Pellegrini.
Reference Angelo Ogbonna’s yell in celebration when Harvey Barnes’ consolation was ruled out at Leicester to secure a second clean sheet. Under Pellegrini, clean sheets were not necessarily the priority and not something the defence took pride in. That has changed under Moyes.
Add into the equation Said Benrahma, who trained with his new teammates for the first time on Monday and is contention to make his debut this weekend, the Hammers head into Saturday's matchup with Manchester City without trepidation.
Pep Guardiola's side often run roughshod over the Hammers, especially at London Stadium, but you get the feeling this West Ham team will stand up better to the challenge of the former Premier League champions than they have done before.
