Spurs 2-0 West Ham United
Premier League
Team news
Three changes - Richy in
We made three changes from the midweek defeat to AC Milan as Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg, Ben Davies and Richarlison come in for Pape Matar Sarr, Ivan Perisic and Heung-Min Son, all of whom were on the bench. Cristian Romero is back involved in the Premier League after serving his one-match domestic ban against Leicester City last week.
Two changes for West Ham
David Moyes made two changes to his midfield from the side that drew 1-1 at home to Chelsea in their last game on 11 February. Flynn Downes and Tomas Soucek started with Said Benrahma among the substitutes while Lucas Paqueta missed out with a shoulder injury.
The report...
We climbed back into the top four of the Premier League on Sunday afternoon, after goals from Emerson Royal and Heung-Min Son gave us a derby day victory over West Ham United.
Brazilian wing-back Royal opened the scoring 11 minutes after the interval before Heung-Min Son doubled our advantage just four minutes after coming off the bench to wrap up a big three points as we bounced back following successive defeats in all competitions.
With Antonio Conte continuing his recovery from surgery, it was Assistant Head Coach Cristian Stellini who took charge once again, but the game wasn’t even a minute old when Tomas Soucek delivered a ball across the area which Jarrod Bowen half-volleyed a couple of yards wide. One hoped that might set the tone for a lively half but it didn’t really pan out that way as both sides failed to create too much in the way of scoring opportunities.
It wasn’t until the 36th minute that game’s first shot on target occurred when Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg’s 25-yard drive was gathered by Lukasz Fabianski. We had another sight of goal in first-half stoppage time when Harry Kane clipped a ball over the top which Richarlison reached before Fabianski and, with his back to goal, he hit a low shot on the turn which the keeper saved with his legs. From the corner, Cristian Romero headed just over the bar.
But it was a much-improved game in the second period. Early after the interval we had two great chances however neither Richarlison nor Harry Kane could convert, but the breakthrough came on 56 minutes. Hojbjerg started the move with one of the most exquisite through balls you’ll see all season, right through the heart of the Hammers' defence for Ben Davies down the left, he found Royal who coolly slotted home.
Straight away the game opened up, Fraser Forster standing up strong to deny Bowen before Dejan Kulusevski brought a smart save out of Fabianski at the other end. And we added to our tally in the 72nd minute, Kane showing great strength up against Angelo Ogbonna before sliding a pass in to substitute Son and he tucked the ball past Fabianski. The visitors had a couple of glimpses of goal in the closing stages, substitute Said Benrahma off target with a 20-yard free-kick and another chance following good work from Bowen, but our lead wasn’t seriously threatened and we held out for a key victory.
Match data...
Spurs (3-4-3): Forster, Romero, Dier, Lenglet (Perisic 78), Royal, Skipp (Sarr 89), Hojbjerg, Davies, Kulusevski (Lucas 89), Kane (c), Richarlison (Son 68). Substitutes (not used): Austin, Pedro Porro, Sanchez, Tanganga, Danjuma.
West Ham (3-4-2-1): Fabianski, Kehrer, Ogbonna (Johnson 82), Aguerd, Coufal, Rice (c), Soucek, Emerson (Fornals 82), Bowen, Downes (Benrahma 72), Antonio (Ings 72). Substitutes (not used): Areola, Cresswell, Scamacca, Lanzini, Casey.
Goals: Spurs – Royal 56, Son 72.
Yellow cards: Spurs – Skipp, Perisic; West Ham - Antonio.
Referee: Michael Oliver.
Venue: Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.
Weather: Sunny, gentle breeze, 13 degrees.
Attendance: 61,476.
Key moment
Our second goal with just under 20 minutes left pretty much settled the outcome, but the opener was so important in a game in which we’d struggled to create chances, particularly in the first half. Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg played a truly sublime pass through the middle of the pitch to find Ben Davies, he picked out Emerson Royal as our wing-backs combined and the Brazilian showed great composure to find the back of the net. That opened up the game – and we took full advantage with our second from Sonny.
Goal of the game
Emerson Royal (56) - Spurs 1-0 West Ham
Star of the show
It was a solid if not spectacular performance from the team and notable mentions must go to the likes of Ben Davies, Cristian Romero and Oliver Skipp, who put in decent shifts and helped the lay the foundations for the win. But there was a standout display from Emerson Royal, who once again produced the goods at both ends of the pitch. He showed all the attributes of a seasoned striker when slotting home the opening goal and did his business at the back as well - making tackles, playing passes to help us build from defence and showing great energy throughout the game.
Stats a fact!
No draw scores!
It’s feast or famine here at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium in the Premier League these days. None of our last 22 home games in the competition have ended in a draw, with Spurs winning 15 (L7). The last time we went 22 home league games without a draw was October 1987.
Sonny up to second
Heung-Min Son scored his 98th Premier League goal this afternoon to take him ahead of Teddy Sheringham and become the second highest PL goalscorer in our history. Only Harry Kane (200) has scored more than Son.
Cristian's comment...
“It was really important, because we had to find again the pace of our performance. Today, we performed in an amazing way. We had a plan. We wanted to play and fight in the first half, and stretch them in the second half, affect the space. The players respected the type of game we had to play. We knew, because this type of team is strong physically, we wanted to use our strengths, our stamina in the second half to stretch them. I think everything was perfect. The players who came into the pitch created good behaviour, good pace in the game, and we won a great game.”
What it means...
This was a big game before kick-off, not only for the fact it was a London derby but also because Newcastle United’s home defeat to Liverpool yesterday had opened the door for us to climb back into the top four. And we took full advantage of the Magpies’ slip-up to leap a point above them in the table, having played a game more. It effectively means a top four spot is in our hands with 14 games of the season still to play.
Next up...
Another Sunday fixture, another Premier League London derby on home soil. That’s what awaits us next weekend as Chelsea are the visitors to N17, a side which we haven’t beaten in the league at our new venue. Graham Potter’s team have only won two of their last 13 league games, so we’ll be hoping to add to that misery here next Sunday. Kick-off is at 1.30pm.
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