Premier LeagueTottenham Hotspur 1-2 West Ham United
Tuesday, 5th December 2023
by James Haley
West Ham battled to a narrow, yet deserved derby win as they returned to east London with all three points.
The first chance came for Spurs within a minute of the game when Heung-Min Son slipped in Dejan Kulusevski, but stand-in keeper Lukasz Fabianski quickly collected.Spurs would soon take the lead when Pedro Porro's 11th-minute, inswinging corner found Cristian Romero who looped a header over Fabianski and into the top left corner.
The one-way traffic would continue when the ball fell nicely for Giovani Lo Celso who volleyed towards goal, but a terrific save from Fabianski denied him.
West Ham's only chance of the first half came when Mohamed Kudus did some good work on the right and crossed the ball for Lucas Paqueta, whose header was poor.
Kurt Zouma enjoyed a nrrow escape when he nearly doubled the lead for Tottenham, when a cross flashed across the face of goal and the French defender smashed the ball against the bar.
West Ham came flying out of the blocks after the break and just seven minutes after the restart, a Kudus shot bounced off Romero and Ben Davies and fell into the path of Jarrod Bowen, who finished into the top corner to make it 1-1.
The Hammers started to build on their momentum as the ball worked from right to left and Paqueta had a low effort saved from Guglielmo Vicario.
Substitute Richarlison had a golden chance to score just moments after his introduction in the 71st minute as he got on the end of a Porro cross, but the Brazilian international glanced his header wide of the post when it seemed easier to score.
But West Ham would complete the turnaround when Destiny Udogie's back pass was intercepted by Bowen, who was intially denied by Vicario - but the goalkeeper's contact saw the ball fall at the feet of James Ward-Prowse, who hit the post with his first shot but was there to tap the rebound into an empty net.
Unsurprisingly Spurs would come at West Ham for the last 15 minutes of the game, but some excellent blocks from Alvarez and Bowen prevented them from scoring an equaliser late on.
This was a game of two halves as Tottenham dominated the first period, but West Ham took the game to the opposition after the interval - and earned their reward for doing so.
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Click to view all West Ham United vs Tottenham Hotspur match reports Click to view all match reports by James Haley Like to share your thoughts on this article? Please visit the KUMB Forum to leave a comment.Player Ratings
Lukasz FabianskiMade some great saves to deny Spurs and considering he hasn't played in the Premier League this season, he didn't look phased at all.
Vladimir Coufal
Good defensive work from the Czech international whilst also getting into some good attacking positions.
Emerson Palmieri
In the first half, he was our only shining light going forward and this continued into the second half. Vintage Emerson performance.
Kurt Zouma
This type of game was perfect for Zouma and he was solid against a quick Spurs attack.
Nayef Aguerd
Aguerd of old would make a mistake in this game but he didn't put a foot wrong all game and had a good partnership with Zouma.
Edson Alvarez
Played much better when he's not told to bring the ball forward and he's in that natural defensive position.
James Ward-Prowse
Great anticipation to get the rebound for the winner and played some tidy passes when we hit on the counter-attack.
Tomas Soucek
Won some decent headers to flick on for Bowen or Kudus and his defensive work rate cannot be questioned.
Mohamed Kudus
Not a normal Kudus performance as he worked very hard but when he was on the ball he didn't play very well.
Lucas Paqueta
A poor first-half performance was made up for with a great second-half performance. Some excellent game management towards the end as well.
Jarrod Bowen
Excellent striker performance as he pressed well and had a superb finish for the first goal. Seven goals in seven away games now.
Substitutes
Pablo Fornals(Replaced Kudus, 88) Looked bright once again off the bench and has to be in contention for Sunday's game or the Europa league game against Freiburg.
Joseph Anang
Thilo Kehrer
Did not play.
Aaron Cresswell
Did not play.
Konstantinos Mavropanos
Did not play.
Angelo Ogbonna
Did not play.
Said Benrahma
Did not play.
Danny Ings
Did not play.
Divin Mubama
Did not play.
Match Facts
West Ham United: Lukasz Fabianski, Vladimir Coufal, Emerson Palmieri, Kurt Zouma, Nayef Aguerd, Edson Alvarez, James Ward-Prowse, Tomas Soucek, Mohamed Kudus, Lucas Paqueta, Jarrod Bowen.Goals: Jarrod Bowen 52 James Ward-Prowse 74 .
Booked: Emerson Palmieri 0 James Ward-Prowse 0 Edson Alvarez 0 .
Sent off: None.
Tottenham Hotspur : Vicario, Porro, Romero, Davies, Udogie, Hojbjerg (Richarlison 67), Bissouma (Sarr 84), Lo Celso (Skipp 67), Johnson (Gil 84), Kulusevski, Son (Veliz 88).
Subs not used: Forster, Royal, Donley, Dorrington .
Goals: Romero (11).
Booked: Porro, Romero.
Sent off: None.
Referee: Michael Salisbury.
Attendance: 0.
Man of the Match: Jarrod Bowen.