Match Report: Kane the Saviour as Laborious Spurs Snatch a Point From West Ham
Tottenham were out to exact revenge on West Ham after the Hammers twice overcame Spurs at White Hart Lane last season. Mauricio Pochettino's side secured a 1-0 win at Upton Park on the opening day of the campaign, but were keen to make amends on home turf after both André Villas-Boas and Tim Sherwood failed to get the better of Sam Allardyce in north London last term. A 2-2 draw saw Pochettino join Villas-Boas and Sherwood on that list, while the stalemate means the Hammers have succumbed to defeat just once in their last 5 visits to White Hart Lane.
Cheikhou Kouyaté's wild swing from 25-yards in the early exchanges found the upper tier of the Paxton Road stand in what was West Ham's first chance of the game while at the other end, Nabil Bentaleb fired in a low drive that was easily claimed by Adrián as Spurs started the brighter of the two teams. Harry Kane came close to putting the home side ahead after 10 minutes. The England hopeful latched onto a threaded Mousa Dembélé pass and excellently held off the challenge of Winston Reid, but poked his effort onto the foot of post and out for a goal kick.
Kane's attempt seemed to wake the away side from their slumber as West Ham began to grow into the game. Aaron Cresswell was presented with the opportunity to shoot from distance after a poorly cleared corner, but the left-back pulled his effort wide of Hugo Lloris' goal. The visitors began to gain a stranglehold on the match and were duly rewarded for their efforts to move in front midway through the first half. Dembélé needlessly gave away possession in his own penalty area, before the ball eventually found its way to Cresswell. He delivered an inviting cross for Kouyaté to powerfully head past Lloris. 'Tottenham Hotspur, it's happening again!' resonated from the away end, with West Ham fans confident their side would come away from White Hart Lane with all 3 points for the second consecutive season.
Danny Rose almost pulled the hosts level moments later, but while he was able to lift his shot over the onrushing Adrián, he couldn't guide the ball into the back of the net. Spurs started the second half as they did the first, though it took until 10 minutes after the restart to forge their first real goalscoring opportunity of the half. Ryan Mason received possession on the edge of the West Ham box, but his curling goalbound effort was easily dealt with by Adrián.
The visitors came close to doubling their advantage just before the hour mark as Mark Noble slid a perfectly weighted pass through to Diafra Sakho. The Senegalese was thwarted at his near post by Lloris, though perhaps should have squared to a teammate in a better position. Sakho made amends, however, as the summer arrival extended West Ham's lead moments after his first shot on goal. Noble picked out the 25-year-old at the back post, who beat Lloris from a tight angle.
The encounter seemed dead and buried, but 10 minutes from time, Rose gave the hosts hope that they could rescue something from this fixture after his bouncing effort found a way past Adrián. The left-back has now directly contributed to 3 goals in his last 3 Premier League London Derbies at White Hart Lane and was a real thorn in West Ham's side over the course of the 90 minutes.
Substitute Roberto Soldado forced Adrián into a fine save with 5 minutes of normal time remaining, but it was Kane who spared the host's blushes in the final seconds of added time after the 21-year-old was fouled by Alex Song. Kane stepped up to take the penalty and while his initial effort was saved by Adrián, the frontman was able to bundle home from close range to secure a point for his side.
The midfield battle was key to West Ham's impressive showing at White Hart Lane. Allardyce opted to field a trio of Kouyaté, Song and Noble for the derby, while Pochettino started Dembélé, Mason and Bentaleb to counter the threat of the Hammers' physical triumvirate. The decision to rest Christian Eriksen was widely welcomed by Spurs supporters, but in his absence, the hosts missed the Dane's creative influence in the final third. Moreover, Dembélé, Mason and Bentaleb all failed to impose themselves on the game, meaning West Ham, in the opening half at least, were by far the stronger of the two teams in the middle third.
A lacklustre first half performance from Dembélé unsurprsingly saw him withdrawn at the interval for Eriksen. The Belgian was at fault for Kouyaté's goal, while his WhoScored rating (5.94) was the lowest of all players in the opening 45 minutes. Eriksen's impact was immediate. The Dane's introduction forced Song to retreat closer to his defence, meaning the Cameroonian was unable to have as significant an impact in West Ham's attacking third as he had in the first half.
That, though, only granted Noble more freedom push further forward. Twice the midfielder found Sakho in a dangerous position after half time, the second of which saw West Ham move into a 2-0 lead on the hour mark. Noble was perhaps lucky to have not seen red moments before he was substituted for Carlton Cole, but the 27-year-old played a crucial role in the draw for the Hammers, as the above graphic during his 68 minutes on the pitch shows. His assist for Sakho's goal was from 1 of his 5 key passes - more than any other player - and contributed to his WhoScored rating of 8.14, only man of the match Sakho (8.20) was rated higher of all players. Once Noble went off, West Ham looked a much poorer side as the away team lacked his energy and tenacity in the middle of the park, which in turn invited more pressure on their defence. It's no surprise Spurs scored twice after he went off as the hosts pushed to secure a positive result.
Ultimately, Spurs' impressive fitness levels and character contributed to the stalemate. Pochettino's side have gained more points from goals scored after the 85th minute (13) than any other team in the Premier League this season. To put that into context, north London rivals Arsenal (6) have won the next highest number of points from goals in that period of the game. However, Spurs' underwhelming performances in home matches after Europa League outings is cause for concern. Each of their 4 home league defeats this season have come after their participation in Europe's second competition and it could have been 5 had it not been for Kane's equaliser at the death.
Particularly in the first half, the hosts were laborious in possession, which invited West Ham to attack and they duly capitalised when Kouyaté headed them in front. Even the introduction of Eriksen at the interval failed to have the desired effect and it wasn't until Noble came off for Carlton Cole that the match swung back into Spurs' favour. This is highlighted in West Ham's WhoScored rating (7.14) compared to Spurs' (6.45) prior to Noble's withdrawal. After the West Ham midfielder went off, this turned in Spurs' favour (6.41 to West Ham's 5.90), as the above graphics show,s while 15 of the hosts' 27 shots came between the 68th minute and full time.
"I think we are always confident because we trust in our players. We never give up and this is important," Pochettino said after the match. This aspect of Spurs' game this season has saved them on numerous occasions and Sunday's draw with West Ham was no exception. However, they need to improve in the middle segment of games if they are to overcome Fiorentina and Chelsea in the Europa League and Capital One Cup, respectively, this week.
Do you think West Ham deserved to win? Were Spurs lucky to secure a point? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below
