If West Ham United had a chance to give their drifting season a lift, against a distracted and second-string Tottenham Hotspur side, they let it pass them by.
Spurs would have been satisfied just to emerge from this low-stakes, low-action London derby without additional injuries, given this was really just a fixture to get through before their all-important Europa League semi-final showdown with Bodo-Glimt on Thursday. A draw also arrested a run of five consecutive defeats in the Premier League, excluding one victory over Southampton.
Ange Postecoglou’s Tottenham tenure may be nearing its end, whatever happens in Europe, but Graham Potter’s is just getting started at West Ham and, four months in, there is still precious little to get the juices flowing. They played three at the back and Jarrod Bowen was as tireless as ever, scoring his tenth league goal of the season. Otherwise? It’s early days, but it’s also hard to see any Potter fingerprints on this team. One supporter near the press box was even watching the snooker on his phone.
There was frustration at the end with West Ham’s ponderous passing and lack of ambition, when Spurs were so clearly there for the taking. And there were some boos at full-time after an eighth game without a victory, a run that has included matches against Everton, Wolverhampton Wanderers, Bournemouth, Southampton and Brighton & Hove Albion. “It was a solid performance, without being amazing,” Potter said. “I was happy with lots of it.”
Lucas Paquetá was curiously emotional after he was given a yellow card in the second half. “He wants it to be better,” Potter said. “He gets frustrated with the action.”
Embarrassment limitation was really the only thing at stake in terms of the Premier League table, with West Ham staying 17th, which would be their worst top-flight finish since being relegated in last place in 2011, and Tottenham remaining 16th, which would be their worst finish since being relegated in last place in 1977.
Postecoglou made eight changes from the 3-1 win over Bodo-Glimt in the first leg, including a completely different back four, while Dejan Kulusevski, Yves Bissouma and Richarlison all started, with a view to improving sharpness before the trip to Norway. James Maddison was left out of the squad and Postecoglou admitted his knee injury “is not looking promising” with less than three weeks left of the season. Dominic Solanke was also absent after tweaking his quad on Thursday, although Postecoglou said the striker “should be right” for the second leg.
Bowen beats Vicario at his near post for the equaliser, but West Ham would have expected more against a distracted, depleted Spurs
TONY O’BRIEN/REUTERS
It was a predictably dozy atmosphere at kick-off, even if Aaron Cresswell reminded everyone this was supposed to be a derby by crunching Kulusevski early on before Ben Davies flew through the back of Niclas Füllkrug.
There was little real football played in the first half, but both teams had enough defensive frailties to make a game of it. Max Kilman twice tried and failed to clear Djed Spence’s chipped ball downfield, as he prodded with his left foot and then his right, but each time hit the harrying Mathys Tel. The Frenchman slid across for Wilson Odobert to tap Tottenham into the lead.
Odobert, enjoying a rare start in Spurs colours, fires his side ahead at the London Stadium
REUTERS
Spurs were no less generous, as Guglielmo Vicario got away with a scuffed clearance to Tomas Soucek, and then a simple switch from Mohammed Kudus led to the equaliser. Aaron Wan-Bissaka slipped in Bowen, who had run beyond Davies, and was cool enough to steer through the legs of Vicario and in.
Richarlison and Tel spurned decent openings down the left for Tottenham either side of half-time and the game briefly sprung into life around the hour, as Bowen sent a dipping volley just wide of the far post before a sloppy pass by Paquetá allowed Tel to break down the left, but Spence squandered the final ball.
Both teams made changes in the final quarter, with James Ward-Prowse almost teeing up Bowen to head in, but Vicario reacted well to palm away. In added time, Ward-Prowse lined up a free kick, 25 yards out and in the perfect place, as the home fans held their breath. But he curled it wide.
West Ham United (3-4-3): A Areola 6 — J Todibo 6 (V Coufal 80), M Kilman 5, A Cresswell 6 (K Mavropanos 58, 6) — A Wan-Bissaka 7, T Soucek 7 (C Soler 80), L Paquetá 6 (J Ward-Prowse 80), Emerson 6 — J Bowen 7, N Füllkrug 6 (E Ferguson 80), M Kudus 6. Booked Kudus, Paquetá.
Tottenham Hotspur (4-3-3): G Vicario 6 — D Spence 6, K Danso 7, B Davies 6, A Gray 6 — D Kulusevski 6, Y Bissouma 6, P Sarr 6 — M Tel 7, Richarlison 6 (M Moore 67, 6), W Odobert 7. Booked Davies, Tel.