Match report
FULL TIME: Tottenham Hotspur 1-1 West Ham United
Some slapstick nonsense in the West Ham area as Spurs take turns to have a shy at goal. Some pinball. It could go anywhere! But the Hammers hack clear, and that’s it! The visitors earn a deserved point: what a defensive performance, and what a goal by Obiang. They couldn’t complete a preposterous smash and grab, though; Son’s equally sensational strike gives Spurs a little deserved something too, reward for all that pressure and possession. West Ham rise to 15th, while Spurs are three points behind fourth-placed Liverpool. A fine end to the festive programme. Happy new year, everyone!
Updated
90 min +2: Masuaku clears a bouncing ball and nearly hoicks Lamela into the stand as well. All fair. Hard but fair.
90 min +1: There will be four added minutes. Aurier curls one into the West Ham box from a deep position on the right. Llorente misses his header at the far post, but he’d pulled Rice to the ground anyway and that’s a free kick to take the pressure off.
90 min: Noble comes sliding in on Llorente, and that one earns a booking. Plenty of pushing and shoving, but it hasn’t been a dirty game.
88 min: The resulting corner comes to nothing. Carroll is then booked for booting the ball away in the time-wasting manner. Some possible controversy in the build-up to the Son equaliser, by the way: Moyes is of the opinion that Aurier had illegally crumped Lanzini back up the pitch to win the ball and start the move. It was certainly a hearty challenge.
86 min: West Ham respond by throwing Carroll on for Lanzini. And then they go on the attack, Ayew dribbling in the Ricky Villa style into the left-hand side of the Spurs box. He goes this way and that, and suddenly he’s one on one with Lloris! But it’s a tight angle and his chip is deflected by the keeper over the bar.
GOAL! Tottenham Hotspur 1-1 West Ham United (Son 84)
Anything Obiang can do, Son can do better. Or at least just as well. From 25 yards, with nothing much on, he unleashes a majestic riser that nestles into the top-right corner at great speed! Adrian had no chance whatsoever. What goals we’ve seen tonight!
Updated
83 min: From the corner, Vertonghen has a whack from the edge of the area. It’s deflected out for another corner, from which Wanyama miskicks dreadfully from 12 yards. No matter, though, because Spurs soon come back at West Ham and ...
82 min: Kane nearly skitters clear down the right, chasing a long ball, but Rice sticks to him well. Kane can’t make the area for a shot, so settles for a corner instead. Before the set piece can be taken, Spurs make their final change, Llorente coming on for Davies.
80 min: Son dribbles down the left but his low cross is easily snaffled at the near post by Adrian.
79 min: Lamela tries to wriggle his way through a small gap down the inside-left channel. He nearly makes it, but ends up conceding a free kick. West Ham were seriously rocking before that stunning strike, but they’re back in shape now.
77 min: A free kick for West Ham out on the right. Lanzini hoicks it long. Out on the left, Obiang curls one back towards the right-hand post. Kouyate is clear on the corner of the six-yard box! But he completely fluffs his header, sending it in the wrong direction, bouncing off apologetically to the right of goal. What a chance to make it two goals from two efforts!
75 min: A contender for song of the season, as the West Ham fans trill: “One shot, we’ve only had one shot.” Spurs have had very many, by comparison. Their latest, by Eriksen, fizzes towards the bottom left from 20 yards but it’s easily gathered by Adrian.
74 min: Spurs make a double change: Dier and Sissoko off, Lamela and Wanyama on.
72 min: West Ham quite rightly celebrated that wonder goal with some passion, though they hadn’t cleared their heads by the restart. And soon Kane was just to the right of the goal, trying to get a shot away. Five West Ham players surrounded him, an ersatz version of that famous Belgium v Maradona photo from 1982. The ball squeaks through the pack and nearly goes in at the near post. But Adrian turns it round. The corner leads to nothing.
GOAL! Tottenham Hotspur 0-1 West Ham United (Obiang 70)
This is an astonishing goal! West Ham take their first serious shot in anger. And what a shot! Obiang, 30 yards out on the left, cuts inside and decides to go for it. He sends a heatseeker into the top left, and nearly takes the net off. Lloris got across, too, but such was the power he had no chance of saving that. What a goal! Fair to say that had not been coming.
Updated
68 min: Spurs are getting closer and closer. Eriksen slips the ball forward, down the middle, to release Kane. The striker traps, turns and shoots, but Zabaleta slides in to block. The ball loops up for Alli, who tries to head home but sends the ball over the bar. Adrian gives him a wee clatter. Penalty? Nope, though you’ve definitely seen those. To be fair to West Ham, though, Kane was offside when receiving Eriksen’s pass, so two wrongs kind of make a right.
66 min: Eriksen’s turn to have a dig from distance. He cuts in from the left and looks for the bottom corner. Adrian smothers.
65 min: A knackered Hernandez, last seen running through quicksand, is replaced by Ayew.
64 min: Vertonghen takes a punt from 25 yards. The ball ricochets to Kane, bursting clear into the box down the inside left. He shoots from a tight angle. Adrian blocks. The flag goes up for offside, correctly.
63 min: Son curls a ball into the West Ham area from the right. Kane goes down at the far post as he attempts to connect. Zabaleta had an arm on his back, and Kane wants a penalty kick. He’s not getting it. It would have been generous, but you’ve seen refs award them.
61 min: Spurs respond with purpose, Kane very nearly getting on the end of a Davies left-wing cross, Eriksen taking a fierce low slam from the edge of the box, Alli heading another cross harmlessly wide right.
60 min: Some Spurs sloppiness in the midfield, as though it’s all too easy to boss that part of the pitch. Suddenly Hernandez is racing clear on goal! But he’s running through treacle, and easily chased down by Sanchez. For a second there, it looked as though West Ham were going to take a very saucy lead.
58 min: Space for Alli down the right. He powers towards the byline, past Rice, and pulls a low one back for Son, near the penalty spot. Son has time to get his act together, but rather scuffs his shot through a thicket of players and the ball rolls harmlessly into Adrian’s arms. A real chance.
Updated
57 min: Son loops a pass down the left and very nearly releases Kane, but Ogbonna steps across to deal with the situation, controlling, turning and lumping clear. That’s marvellous defending, with the super-hot Kane breathing down his neck.
55 min: Alli tries to juggle the ball past Reid on the edge of the box. Reid hacks the ball away but clips Alli’s high-kicking leg. It’s a fair coming together for a ball that’s there to be won, and though the Tottenham faithful scream for a penalty as Alli falls, the player himself makes no claim. Penny for Arsene Wenger’s thoughts, huh.
54 min: West Ham are quite happy to sit back and soak it all up. Why not? It worked for them in the first half. It’ll be interesting to see if they show any more ambition should they continue to frustrate Spurs.
52 min: This is all Spurs, up to the final third. West Ham own that bit of the pitch. Kane, the best part of 40 yards from goal on the left and getting a little frustrated, tries to replicate Robbie Fowler’s goal for Liverpool against Birmingham City in the 2001 League Cup final. Top marks for ambition.
Updated
50 min: More Spurs passing, hither and yon. But West Ham still hold firm. No gaps. Eriksen tries a chip down the inside-right channel, and very nearly finds the marauding Aurier, but the ball’s intercepted gracefully by Ogbonna.
48 min: Son stepovers his way down the left wing. He gets a yard on Kouyate, but then blasts a wild cross behind the goal. An end to a long period of patient Spurs possession.
We’re back ... and they’re off again! West Ham get the ball rolling for the second half, their job only half done. It’s launched long and Lloris collects. “Martin Peters was a very good player but, ah ... dear old Jimmy was something special,” sighs Roy Everitt.
Half-time viewing, courtesy of Mike Gibbons. “As it’s Spurs and West Ham, and the transfer window is open, a quick nod to the greatest swopsie transfer deal in English football history in March 1970. Martin Peters from Upton Park to White Hart Lane, and this fella - Harry Kane to the power of ten for any kids reading - in the other direction.”
HALF TIME: Tottenham Hotspur 0-0 West Ham United
... there’s nothing. The teams trudge off. In the stands, a rendition of I’m Forever Blowing Bubbles fills the air. The away fans a lot happier than the home support.
45 min: After a sleepy couple of minutes, Spurs wake up. Eriksen powers down the centre, exchanges crisp passes with Alli, and slams a shot goalwards from 25 yards. A deflection gives Adrian some work to do as the ball moves through the air. The keeper tips it over. Corner. From which ...
Updated
42 min: Hernandez over-elaborates in the middle of the park, allowing Spurs to tear en masse towards the West Ham area. But the visitors make sure there are no gaps in the middle, the attack slows down, and Alli eventually plays a forward ball to nobody. West Ham clear their lines.
40 min: Spurs ping it around a bit, but get nowhere. Eventually Sissoko tries switching play down the right but only succeeds in passing the ball straight out of play. A few frustrated groans from the home faithful.
38 min: Hernandez goes down very easily as he brushes against Vertonghen while attempting a fancy backflick. Vertonghen looks perplexed at the award of a free kick, which allows West Ham to load the box and hoick one in from the right. The set piece isn’t up to much, though. No drama.
36 min: West Ham launch another attack, Hernandez rolling a pass down the right for Lanzini, who has team-mates in the box to find. But instead of crossing, he cuts inside and considers shooting. Then doesn’t shoot. Then he considers shooting again. Eventually the ball’s taken off his toe. What a waste. Calmer heads, and West Ham could have worked Lloris once or twice in the past few minutes. But here we are.
34 min: A real chance for Hernandez, in the centre circle, to set Obiang free down the middle. Spurs sloppy in midfield and light at the back. But he claps his pass straight into Dier, the opportunity suddenly gone. Spurs go up the other end and nearly make West Ham pay big. Vertonghen, out on the left, wafts a gorgeous long diagonal ball to Aurier, rushing towards the West Ham box. Aurier rolls the ball across the face of goal. Kane, romping in, meets it, but only at full stretch, running it out of play to the left of goal instead of shooting. That would have been a lovely goal.
32 min: Spurs enjoy a lot of possession in the middle of the park. West Ham continue to hold their shape. Nothing more to report.
30 min: Spurs are turning up the heat again. First Son dribbles down the left in the baroque style and reaches the corner of the six-yard box, but can’t quite force a shot through. Then another wave of attack ends with Eriksen firing low, hard and not too far wide of the right-hand post. Adrian probably had it covered, but it was a decent effort from distance nonetheless.
28 min: Masuaku curls a ball into the Spurs area from a very deep position on the left. It seems to unnerve Lloris, who just about ushers it out of play to the right of goal without panicking. But had Hernandez taken more of a gamble on the run, that could have caused Spurs a little bother. The home side go straight up the other end and nearly score, Kane curling one towards the bottom right from the left of the D. Adrian meets it at full stretch, and the ball’s half cleared. Dier immediately dispatches it into Row Z.
26 min: West Ham are holding their defensive shape very well right now. Spurs probe about quite a lot, but they’re forced to turn back when they approach the final third. The home fans have fallen a little quiet as a result.
24 min: A little bit of space for Hernandez down the right, and a rare attack for West Ham. The Little Pea sends a roller through the Spurs area, but nobody in claret and blue has kept up with play, and so the home side mop up without much fuss. Spurs go down the other end, Alli making good down the left, taking advantage of a misjudged Reid interception. Alli fires one in low but it’s hacked clear purposefully by Ogbonna.
22 min: Son flicks a couple of passes down the left for Davies on the overlap. The first results in a cross that’s too deep, the second runs out for a goal kick. Spurs continue to enjoy a fair bit of space down this flank. “What Russell Hope forgot to mention was that David Cross scored four goals that day,” reports John Tumbridge. “I had too until he revived my internal pain.”
20 min: Corner for Spurs down the left. Eriksen’s dead-ball delivery is uncharacteristically flat, in both senses of the word, failing to beat the first man. West Ham clear their lines with a collective yawn.
19 min: West Ham have been second best so far, but not embarrassingly so. Spurs spend time in the middle of the park, knocking it around in the passive style. David Moyes will be happy enough with the way things are going.
16 min: Eriksen slips a ball into the West Ham area from the right for Kane. Faced with a tight angle, the striker smashes a ball across the face of goal, and it’s sliced into his own net by Reid. However Kane was offside. No goal. But there’s some better news for Spurs, relatively speaking, from 11 min’s Roy Everitt. “Actually, I’ve just checked and it was only 5-3, on 6 November 1976.”
Updated
15 min: Spurs pin West Ham back awhile. Aurier twists down the right and slips a ball into the box for Kane, on the right-hand corner of the six-yard box. But Kane can’t turn and get a shot away, much as he tries. West Ham clear.
12 min: Ogbonna hooks a pass down the inside-left channel and isn’t a million miles away from freeing Lanzini. Too much juice, though, and it’s all the way through to Lloris. Still, the home side were snoozing a little there. Lanzini grimaces, knowing that was a half-chance to create something.
11 min: Another run by Son down the left. It doesn’t really come to much, but the Spurs forward is gettting plenty of space down this flank. “The only time I ever went to a West Ham v Spurs game was in the mid to late seventies,” writes Roy Everitt. “Being young and naive, it wasn’t until I was on the tube approaching Upton Park with a load of fellow Spurs fans that I realised I was basically wearing claret and blue. No harm was done, except to Spurs, who lost about 5-0, I think.”
9 min: Son and Zabaleta go high-kicking into a 50-50 about 35 yards from the Spurs goal. West Ham get the decision, much to Son’s annoyance. Lanzini lumps the free kick into a loaded box, but it doesn’t result in a chance and Spurs clear easily enough.
Updated
7 min: A lull. A strange rhythm to this game so far. “Notice how when Moyes mentioned the top teams, he made no mention of Manchester United?” asks Alan from Ireland. “Sly little dig there at his old club me thinks!” Maybe. Though it is possible the mere sensation of that club’s name on his lips would send him into toxic shock. Dark days. Best take no chances.
5 min: From the set piece, Adrian doesn’t give a good account of himself under a high ball. His fumble leads to another corner, but that one leads to nothing. Spurs have suddenly come on strong.
4 min: Dier and Eriksen triangulate down the middle, the latter nearly feeding Kane into the box. Adrian gathers. Spurs soon come again, though, with Son down the left. His low cross isn’t cleared by the miskicking Obiang. Kane tries to force the loose ball into the net from a tight angle. He gets it past the keeper but Rice heroically clumps it away from extreme danger, for a corner.
Updated
2 min: A fairly quiet start, apart from a rasping rendition of Bubbles coming from one corner of the famous old/new stadium. Plenty of time for this match to get going.
And we’re off! Spurs get the ball rolling and then take it upfield. They hold onto possession awhile, then move it backwards, giving most of the team an early touch.
The teams are out! Tottenham wear their famous lilywhite, West Ham their equally storied claret and blue. A rare old atmosphere at Wembley ahead of a big London derby, and here’s Spurs fan Russell Hope to whip it up a little more: “Just been reflecting on the GOOD OLD DAYS and my first Spurs-West ‘aaaaaam game. August 1981, Tottenham’s first home game of the season after the Ricky Villa cup final ... and we lost 4-0. I had quite a lot of wee thrown over me and was chased down the High Road afterwards by a group of exuberant eastenders. Modern football, eh? Ruined it all.” We’ll be off in a minute!
Updated
Mauricio Pochettino’s turn. “It is hard to keep the momentum, but we have to give the team fresh legs. It is important for us to keep fighting for fourth; three points will be massive for us. It is true that we need to give Harry Kane a good rest, because he was feeling unwell, but hopefully today he is fully recovered and can play the 90 minutes. It will be perfect for us if we finish this game with three points and the perfect festive season. But the game will be very close and we must fight.”
David Moyes is asked how sweet Andy Carroll’s late winner against West Brom tasted. “It was great for us, three important points at this time of the season. Andy has been injured and in truth, if we had our way, he wouldn’t even be on the bench today. Marko Arnautivoc is injured as well, he’s been really important for us, but not fit to play tonight. This is similar to playing against Arsenal, Manchester City or Chelsea, I think Tottenham are one of the top teams, the quality of players they have got. But we will have a go. We have to be compact and difficult to play against. We’ve done it in some games, hopefully we get back to that tonight.”
Given the teams both played 48 hours ago, it’s something of a surprise that each manager has made only three changes to their starting XIs. Mauricio Pochettino calls up Harry Kane, Serge Aurier and Moussa Sissoko; they take the place of Fernando Llorente, Kieran Trippier and Erik Lamela, all of whom are named as subs.
David Moyes drops Andy Carroll to the bench, while Marko Arnautovic and Aaron Cresswell have injury issues. Stepping up: Javier Hernandez, Mark Noble and Declan Rice.
The teams
Tottenham Hotspur: Lloris, Aurier, Sanchez, Vertonghen, Davies, Sissoko, Dier, Eriksen, Alli, Son, Kane.
Subs: Trippier, Lamela, Wanyama, Vorm, Llorente, Dembele, Winks.
West Ham United: Adrian, Reid, Ogbonna, Rice, Zabaleta, Kouyate, Noble, Obiang, Masuaku, Lanzini, Hernandez.
Subs: Carroll, Ayew, Haksabanovic, Hart, Martinez, Quina, Makasi.
Referee: Mike Dean (Wirral).
Preamble
It’d be understandable if both of these teams are feeling a little tired. Tottenham played in a tempest at Swansea just 48 hours ago. At the same time, West Ham were embroiled in a 94-minute tussle with West Bromwich Albion at the London Stadium. And now here they are at Wembley for one of the season’s big capital clashes. Is there no let-up?!
Both sides will be feeling knackered yet content. Tottenham are on a three-game winning streak, having responded to defeat at Manchester City before Christmas by swatting aside Burnley, Southampton and Swansea City. Harry Kane, Mr 2017, hasn’t scored yet this year, but to be fair he only played 22 minutes against the Swans and still managed to set up Dele Alli with an exquisite assist. A win here will move Spurs to within a point of Liverpool in fourth, all set for another tilt at a Champions League spot.
West Ham meanwhile have been buoyed by that dramatic late, late win over the Baggies, Andy Carroll, Mr 2018 as things stand, suddenly back among the goals. The Hammers have regrouped under David Moyes, and should they win this one tonight, they’ll rise to the heady heights of 11th. That may be asking a lot, seeing Spurs won 3-2 at the London Stadium back in September. Then again, West Ham emerged victorious by the same scoreline here at Wembley a month later, having launched one of the great League Cup comebacks. So good luck calling this one with supreme confidence.
Whatever happens, there’s a fair chance we’ll be served up some entertainment. In their last six meetings, these two clubs have served up three 3-2s and a 4-1. During that time, it’s three wins apiece. Spurs are strong favourites, with West Ham 10-1 outsiders at your favourite turf accountant, but these lads are never the most predictable when they meet, so on with the show!
Kick off: 8pm GMT.
Updated
