West Ham’s win over 10-man Tottenham means that they’ve secured a third straight season in the Premier League - and, most likely, quieted fans’ protests over the tactics employed by Sam Allardyce. Spurs, meanwhile, may have just lost out on European play next season. If Manchester United win out, they can swoop in and steal sixth place.
Had Tottenham taken the lead within the first minute, this game may have gone very differently. West Ham goalkeeper Adrian provided the perfect opportunity, dawdling on a backpass and allowing Harry Kane to snatch the ball away. The young forward skewed his shot just wide, but it still looked like an omen of sorts for the hosts.
Instead, in the 24th minute, Spurs changed the course of their own destiny. Stewart Downing slipped through the Tottenham defense to burst through on goal. Younes Kaboul caught up, tackling the wide man just outside the area. Phil Dowd ruled that Kabul had denied a goal scoring opportunity, showed the defender a straight red and left Tottenham to continue with ten men.
West Ham didn’t get a penalty, but they certainly took advantage of the resulting free kick. Andy Carroll forced Hugo Lloris to beat his shot away, giving the hosts a corner. Carroll then got on the end of Mark Noble’s delivery, heading on toward goal. The ball bounced off Kane and into the back of the net, giving the unlucky Spur an own-goal.
Things got worse for Spurs just before the break. Again a rash challenge, this time Michael Dawson bringing down Noble, brought a free kick for West Ham. Downing waved away Carroll to take the kick. It wasn’t the best strike from Downing, but Emmanuel Adebayor and Paulinho were quite accommodating, parting like the Red Sea to allow the ball to sail through. The shot wound up in the bottom corner, giving Downing his first goal in a West Ham shirt.
West Ham weren’t about to back down, starting the second half by hunting out a third goal. A fantastic scissor-kick from Mohamed Diamé produced an even better low save from Lloris. The rebound fell to Matt Taylor, but he was only able to put his shot wide. Then came a chance from Kevin Nolan, with Lloris using his body to block the strike.
With the Irons’ man advantage, they looked nothing but comfortable for the majority of the match. Spurs had a late penalty shout when a West Ham arm blocked a ball from Sandro, but it went ignored by Dowd. Perhaps the visitors’ best chance came in injury time, when Danny Rose forced a fine save from Adrian - a goal that would’ve been nothing but a consolation.
LINEUPS
West Ham United: Adrian, Demel, Tomkins, Reid, McCartney; Diame, Noble; Downing, Nolan (Jarvis 88), Taylor; Carroll (C. Cole 84)
Goals: Kane o.g. 27'; Downing 44'
Tottenham Hotspur: Lloris; Naughton, Dawson, Kaboul, Rose; Lennon, Paulinho (Sandro 65), Sigurdsson (Soldado 66), Eriksen; Adebayor, Kane (Chiriches 28)