Jacob Steinberg was at the London Stadium tonight. Here’s his report. Thanks for reading this MBM. Nighty night.
Ange Postecoglou speaks to TNT. “It was tough … they sat deep and compact … for the most part we controlled the game pretty well … we got a great start … they’re always going to be a threat from set pieces … our decision-making in the final third didn’t help us … both teams left it all out there … we’re obviously disappointed not to win but it’s a tough place to come … we just needed to be a little bit more clinical.”
David Moyes talks to TNT. “I would have taken [a point] before the game … Tottenham are a really good team … so for us to be winning and drawing against Tottenham this season is good for us … fair credit to the lads, they kept at it … we were a threat in a lot of the things we’ve done … I genuinely thought we didn’t deserve to go behind tonight … they had moments at the end … in the second half we had a few moments … maybe the draw was the right result in the end … after the way we played at the weekend, we looked more committed to make sure people didn’t score … overall it’ll hopefully give us big confidence … we’ve been doing OK, just set back a little at the weekend.”
The game’s other goalscorer, Brennan Johnson, talks to TNT. “We’re disappointed … for large parts of the game we dominated … we lacked that little bit of cutting edge … we’re reasonably happy with the performance, it’s just that last bit we have to keep working on … every week I feel more confident, getting into better areas … the style of play is unbelievable … it’s a very exciting team … we just need more time to gel … we want to finish as strong as we can … we’ve got a lot of tough games coming up which we’re really excited about.”
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Kurt Zouma, named player of the match by Robbie Savage, speaks to TNT. “It was a very tense game … both teams wanted to win … we gave so much … after the game on Saturday we had to react and I think we did … the reaction was the thing we have to take from the game … we are family and through ups and downs we stick together … it was a good game to watch, I would say … we need to play like this in all the games we have left … we need to build up our confidence and have a good result at the weekend … the run-in is always exciting … we still have a lot to play for … hopefully we finish in a good position.”
That was a great game. For an hour. Then it completely fizzled out … before going absolutely wild deep into stoppage time, when both teams could (and will feel they probably should) have scored on the counter. A draw’s probably fair, though. Neither team will be particularly happy with the point, nor particularly gutted. Spurs remain in fifth, West Ham seventh.
| Pos | Team | P | GD | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 4 | Aston Villa | 30 | 20 | 59 |
| 5 | Tottenham Hotspur | 30 | 18 | 57 |
| 6 | Man Utd | 29 | 0 | 48 |
| 7 | West Ham | 31 | -5 | 45 |
| 8 | Newcastle | 30 | 12 | 44 |
FULL TIME: West Ham United 1-1 Tottenham Hotspur
There’s still enough time for Son and Kulusevski to mess up a counter, and Paqueta and Antonio to over-elaborate on the counter-counter, and the whistle goes. What a breathless finish!
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90 min +5: What a chance to win the game at the death pt. II! Bowen chases after a ball bouncing down the inside-left channel. He wedges across the face of goal, past the out-of-position Vicario, but the cross is too high for Antonio to barge into an empty net. Wow!
90 min +4: Kulusevski’s right wing cross is deflected by Lo Celso into the path of Udogie, who has space to shoot from the edge of the box. Blocked! What a chance to win the game at the death!
90 min +3: Lo Celso has come on for Johnson, incidentally.
90 min +2: Ward-Prowse takes, but not in a particularly convincing style. Spurs clear.
90 min +1: Emerson wins a corner down the left off Romero, who is livid at his team-mates for falling asleep and letting the West Ham man make his run.
90 min: There will be four additional minutes.
89 min: The referee is busy booking Romero for a late clip on Ward-Prowse when Bowen takes a quick free kick and romps forward. He shoots. Vicario saves. The whistle repeatedly blasts. Kudus eventually slots, but the play’s pulled back. Everybody knew it. No controversy here.
88 min: The corner’s half cleared. Sarr drags a speculative shot wide left. This match was great entertainment for the first hour, but it’s fizzled out dramatically since.
87 min: Son romps down the left and feeds Hojbjerg on the overlap. Hojbjerg crosses. Coufal chests out for a corner. Hojbjerg claims a penalty, cheekily. The referee tells him to pipe down. Just a corner, Porro to take.
86 min: Bowen has been quiet in this second half, certainly in comparison with the havoc he wreaked down the right in the first. But now he wins another corner and takes it himself. He delivers well, but Soucek can’t connect properly with a header at the far stick, and it’s a goal kick to Spurs.
84 min: Antonio makes his way down the left but, upon reaching the byline, is only able to cushion a cross into Vicario’s arms.
82 min: Another double Spurs swap. Bissouma makes way for Hojbjerg, while Werner gets out of the way 60 seconds too late, as he’s replaced by Richarlison.
81 min: Porro crosses deep from the right. Sarr storms in from the left, hoping to head home. Werner, of all people, heads the ball away from his orbit. Oh dear. Then the flag goes up for offside anyway, Werner at fault for that too. Had the striker not been there at all, Sarr would most likely have put Spurs in front.
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79 min: The London Stadium is super-subdued now. The goalfest that looked certain to materialise after 20 minutes hasn’t happened.
77 min: Johnson jinks his way down the right but only succeeds in floating a harmless cross into the hands of Fabianski.
76 min: Bowen has an opportunity to dribble into the Spurs box from the right, but hesitates, allowing Bissouma to come over, take charge, and usher him out for a goal kick. The air’s gone out of this game a little bit.
74 min: Kudus has the chance to send Antonio clear down the left, but instead steps infield and draws a foul from Johnson, who goes into the book.
73 min: Sarr crosses low from the right. The ball whistles down the corridor of uncertainty. Coufal clears with Werner lurking. Spurs look much the more likely side to find a winner.
72 min: … and Zouma eyebrows it clear.
72 min: Johnson rolls another cross in from the right. Porro takes a fresh-air swipe, six yards out. Spurs come again, and Werner’s effort is deflected out for a corner on the right. Porro to take.
70 min: Spurs make the first changes of the evening. Maddison and Bentancur make way for Kulusevski and Sarr.
69 min: Porro cuts in from the right and scuffs a shot goalwards. Gathered easily by Fabianski.
68 min: Porro’s right-wing cross deflects into the path of Johnson, who controls and sends a fierce shot goalwards. Blocked. Spurs continue to look the more likely in this second half … though it’s Antonio who had the best opportunity to score. Football, eh.
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66 min: Kudus does exceptionally well to keep a speculative long punt in play, zipping down the left flank at warp speed … then the flag goes up for offside. All that effort for the square root of eff all, and needlessly expended to boot. The law is an ass.
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64 min: Johnson goes haring up the middle of the park. He goes over in the box, but only as the result of a perfectly timed challenge by Emerson. The ball picked off his toe. Anything else and that was a penalty. Spurs come again but Son slices high and wide right.
63 min: Spurs have enjoyed 68 percent of possession to date.
61 min: Bentancur is booked for a challenge on Emerson. This is bubbling away nicely.
60 min: An absurd passage of play! Maddison prepares to shoot from the edge of the D. He’s toppled from behind by Paqueta. Maddison wants a free kick, and probably should get one … but doesn’t. Play goes on. One big hoof upfield, and Antonio is clear! But Van de Ven is fast, and gets ahead of the striker … only to stumble and allow Antonio a free shot on goal. Antonio slaps the ball straight at Vicario, and somehow after all that, it’s still 1-1.
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59 min: Spurs are pushing West Ham back. The hosts can’t get out of their final third. At least they’re holding their shape in the middle for now, the visitors unable to fashion a shooting chance from all their current territorial dominance.
57 min: Bowen and Udogie go into high-speed battle down the right touchline. It’s a great match-up, Bowen dribbling hard, Udogie sticking to his side. Eventually Bowen lays off to Paqueta, who sends an effort off target. This is great fun.
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55 min: Bissouma lashes a shot wide right from distance. That effort followed some pretty triangles drawn by Johnson, Son and Maddison. Both teams continue to push and pile forward, just has they have done from the get-go.
53 min: Johnson sends a dangerous low ball in from the right. It somehow evades Son in the middle. Spurs keep the attack going, and Maddison has a crack from the edge of the box. He catches it well, but it’s blocked bravely by Coufal. Spurs taking their turn to crank the pressure up.
52 min: Antonio is booked for extending a leg towards Bentancur, in the hope of reaching a loose ball, and standing on his foot. West Ham can have no complaints about the decision, but David Moyes makes one anyway.
51 min: Antonio barges his way down the left and draws a foul from Romero. Ward-Prowse sends a long in-swinger towards Soucek, who can’t keep the ball in play to the right of goal. The pressure on Spurs is released.
50 min: Now Paqueta spins and whistles a rising shot inches wide of the top left. West Ham have started this half brilliantly.
49 min: … Mavropanos heads down and goalwards. Vicario scoops bravely off the line. Antonio should slam home from close range, but takes a fresh-air shot. Spurs clear, then the whistle goes, as Antonio had been impeding the keeper.
48 min: Bentancur ships possession carelessly just outside his own box. Ward-Prowse tees up Antonio, whose powerful curler towards the bottom right is tipped out by Vicario. And from the resulting corner …
47 min: Under no pressure whatsoever, Romero needlessly allows a speculative long ball to hit his arm. Play goes on, but the defender was the last man and well, it’d have been dreadfully soft, but you’ve seen decisions given for less.
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46 min: The rain’s stopped again.
West Ham get the second half underway. No changes.
Half-time postbag. “Anyone else get the feeling that James Ward Proust is desperately searching for a remembrance of set-pieces past?” – Brian Withington
“If Zouma does that again, would it be the top flight’s first vertebrace?” – Grant Tennille (in an email headed “Spinal Tap-in”)
Half-time entertainment.
HALF TIME: West Ham United 1-1 Tottenham Hotspur
The whistle goes to end an open and entertaining end-to-end first half. It’s started raining again, by the way.
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45 min +3: West Ham only half clear the corner, and from the edge of the D, Bentancur sends a curler towards the top right. It’s wide. Not sure Fabianski had that covered.
45 min +2: A second corner leads to a third. Maddison will take this one as well, if there’s time.
45 min +1: Johnson dribbles purposefully down the right and wins a corner off Kudus. Porro’s outswinger is hooked clear by Emerson …. but Spurs come again through Maddison, whose jinky run earns another corner. Maddison will take this one himself.
45 min: … and it’ll come in two minutes.
44 min: Maddison then barges Paqueta to the floor at the next opportunity. Up goes the heat. Then Antonio tries to take a quick throw down the left wing, only for Van de Ven to cheekily flick the ball away. Van de Ven becomes the first player to earn a place in the referee’s notebook. A few tempers suddenly rising. Half time can’t come quickly enough.
43 min: Paqueta barges into Maddison. Shoulder to shoulder, but hard. The referee gives Paqueta a good talking-to. Paqueta offers Maddison a hand of apology. It’s brushed away, to pantomime boos.
42 min: Ward-Prowse curls into a packed mixer. Udogie eyebrows away to the right flank. Coufal sends it back in. Bentancur draws a foul from Paqueta and the pressure that had been building on Spurs is released.
41 min: Yet another West Ham corner … but this time it’ll come in from the left, Kudus having won it. Ward-Prowse to take this one.
40 min: Bowen hits this one long. Under extreme pressure from a few claret shirts, Vicario fingertips away from danger.
39 min: Udogie heads this one clear … but once again Bowen comes again, and once more wins a corner on the right. Here we go.
38 min: Coufal flings a long throw in from the right. Bissouma heads it clear, but Bowen comes back at Spurs down the same flank and wins another corner. He’ll take it himself.
36 min: Bowen is skittled 25 yards from goal by Romero. Another Spurs player who is fortunate not to go into the book. Referee John Brooks doing his best Anthony Taylor impression here. Ward-Prowse takes the free kick, and goes for goal, aiming towards the top-right corner. Vicario tips it away confidently.
34 min: Spurs have enjoyed 91 percent of possession during the last five minutes. The London Stadium is a bit subdued as a result.
33 min: The rain has stopped.
32 min: “The big question for West Ham fans is whether Kurt Zouma meant it? Did he back himself to score there?” Justin Kavanagh with the zinger, because somebody had to make it.
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30 min: TNT flash up another instructive stat: Spurs have made 193 passes to West Ham’s 77. Johnson nearly makes it 194 but his ball from the right, sent through the Hammers six-yard box, evades Werner, who doesn’t bother to gamble by making a move, though probably should have.
28 min: Porro sends a vicious cross in from the right. Fabianski punches clear spectacularly, and slightly fortunately, the ball slicing off his fists and away from goal. It wasn’t a clean connection, and the ball could easily have flown the other way and into the net.
27 min: Porro has the chance to release Maddison towards goal, but overhits his pass. Both teams are going for this, hell for leather.
26 min: Paqueta busies himself down the inside-left channel. He lays off to Bowen, who from the edge of the D sends the ball goalwards after a weird ricochet. It nearly squirts into the bottom right, but Vicario adjusts quickly to scramble and gather.
25 min: Bissouma comes through the back of Bowen and is fairly fortunate not to go into the book. Perhaps the conditions played a part in the referee’s decision to limit the punishment to a peep of his whistle.
24 min: Bowen barrels down the right and, just for a second, looks like tearing infield towards the Spurs box. But the speedy Van de Ven sticks to his shoulder and eventually eases him off the ball. Bowen wants a free kick, but he’s not getting one; it was excellent defending. Great play all round, in fact.
22 min: Paqueta floats a diagonal ball in from the left. Antonio nearly executes a glorious chest down on the edge of the D, but before he can turn and shoot, he slips and handles as he falls. Ah well. The London Stadium is bouncing, and no wonder: this is a really entertaining game!
20 min: Told you this wouldn’t end 0-1. It won’t end 1-1 either. I’m really not going too far out on a limb here.
GOAL! West Ham United 1-1 Tottenham Hotspur (Zouma 19)
Bowen curls the corner deep. Zouma rises highest and meets the ball, six yards out. It flies into the top left … of the defender’s back. What an odd finish, slapping in off Zouma’s number four, but the teams are level and the place erupts!
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18 min: The Coufal-Bowen combination down the right looks West Ham’s best bet. They exchange passes again and win another corner. It’s West Ham’s third of the game already. And from it …
17 min: Paqueta, who has been West Ham’s most prominent and effective defender so far this evening, and that tells a tale, heads the free kick clear.
16 min: Paqueta nudges Udogie to the ground as the marauding Spurs left-back makes good down his wing. Free kick. Everyone piles into the box. Maddison to send it in.
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15 min: That chance for Son was the result of Fabianski and Mavropanos dithering under no pressure over a low Johnson cross from the right, allowing Werner and Udogie to step in and steal the ball. It was then worked to Son, the keeper making up for his initial mistake. The home fans sound concerned. West Ham look super-shaky at the back, their confidence shattered by the Toon last weekend.
13 min: A bit of space for Son, 20 yards out. He drops a shoulder and aims for the top right. He doesn’t quite catch it and Fabianski claims.
12 min: Maddison steams down the middle and finds Son on the right. He keeps going and should get the ball back, but as he prepares to enter the area, Paqueta intercepts Son’s careless pass.
10 min: Spurs work the ball this way and that. Porro then arrives from the right and sends a low diagonal screamer inches wide of the left-hand post. Fabianski probably had that covered, but it was hellishly close. No way is this game going to end 0-1.
9 min: TNT with the stat bomb: West Ham have now conceded four goals in their last 28 minutes of football. That’s not going to make David Moyes very happy, is it?
7 min: West Ham respond well to falling behind. Coufal earns a corner down the right and the set piece isn’t properly dealt with by Vicario. The ball drops to Kudus, who tries to high-kick goalwards from 12 yards. The ball pings off the nearby Romero’s elbow, but it’s just another corner, not a penalty in a million years. Nothing comes of the second corner.
6 min: That was ever so simple but a lovely team goal nonetheless. Maddison’s pass was perfectly weighted, and Werner set it up on a plate for Johnson, who had timed his run in from the other flank perfectly and couldn’t miss.
GOAL! West Ham United 0-1 Tottenham Hotspur (Johnson 5)
Werner elegantly dribbles down the inside-left channel, having been sent clear by Maddison. He whips a low cross towards the near post, where Johnson arrives to flip into the bottom-left corner from close range. Easy as that!
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4 min: Kudus makes a nuisance of himself down the left, stealing the ball off a dithering Porro. A low cross somehow gets through a crowded box and reaches a surprised Bowen, who can’t adjust in time and bats a poor effort well wide left from six yards. That was a decent chance.
3 min: Bowen’s cute backheel down the right nearly releases Coufal … but not quite. A fast start to this match on a slick surface.
2 min: Soucek clatters into Bissouma. Derby Challenge #1.
1 min: Spurs start in the no-nonsense style, Maddison almost immediately attempting to release Son down the middle. Emerson is on point to intercept and put a stop to their scheme.
Tottenham Hotspur get the ball rolling. It is tipping down.
The teams are out! West Ham in claret and blue, Spurs in lilywhite, pretty bubbles popping in the rain, the super-seventies sound of that squelchy bassline. A fine atmosphere under the lights, and we’ll be off in a minute or two.
Our pre-match postbag is teeming with an email. Here it is! “Between Son, Johnson, Maddison, Richarlison and Emerson on the team sheet, Spurs are giving the Iceland national team a run for their money. Thunderclap please!” OK ladies and gentlemen, let’s do what the man says and put our hands together for Peter Oh. Húh!
David Moyes takes his turn to chat with the good folk of TNT. “Hopefully we can get the game from Saturday out of our system and show what we can do tonight … with the short turnaround it’s hard to get too much work done … when we were winning [at Newcastle] I’d have liked us to have been a bit tougher … we’ve been conceding a few goals which we have to eradicate … Tottenham’s style is very good … they’re an exciting team … we have to make sure to turn the ball over and cause problems on the counter … we’re up against a team who are very good in possession … when you’re a player and you’ve had a [bad] result, you want to come out and get the chance to show you can do it … they’re getting that opportunity tonight … a great game to play in, a big London derby, so let’s hope we turn up and show what we can do.”
Ange Postecoglou talks to TNT Sports. “It’s a good opportunity to freshen our team up … it’ll be a tough challenge tonight … the lads have pace which I think we’ll need … I’m a little bit of an outsider but I’m well informed about the rivalry between the clubs … I’m looking forward to it tonight … we’ve got to be really wary but our football is about imposing ourselves … our press and hard work has been pretty good … Son [who is making his 400th appearance for Spurs tonight] is outstanding and will go down as a legend at our club … he’s got such high standards … he’s an outstanding person as well … goals, assists and when you need them, too … I’m not dismissing Champions League football but I don’t want to see us making that the end goal and thinking it’s going to help us next year … ultimately the only thing that gives us is a platform to improve … I want us to finish the season strong and keep improving, then strengthen in the off-season … if we finish the season strong that sets us up for a bigger year next year.”
A reminder, not that you need it, but here it is anyway, that four other Premier League matches are being played this evening. A couple of them are starting right about now, and John Brewin has all you need to know. Don’t forget to come back here, though. Our tech experts recommend the implementation of a two-tab-toggling reading system.
Newcastle v Fulham (7.30pm)
Nottingham Forest v Fulham (7.30pm)
Bournemouth v Crystal Palace (7.45pm)
Burnley v Wolves (7.45pm)
West Ham make just one change to their starting line-up in the wake of the 4-3 defeat at Newcastle. Alphonse Areola hasn’t recovered from the groin injury that ended his day prematurely at St James’ Park; Lukasz Fabianski continues to stand in. Poor old Kalvin Phillips, chided and derided, can’t catch a break right now: he’s on the subs’ bench again.
Spurs make three changes after their narrow 2-1 win over Luton Town. Micky Van de Ven, Rodrigo Bentancur and Brennan Johnson get the nod ahead of Radu Dragusin, Pape Matar Sarr and Dejan Kulusevsk, all of whom drop to the bench.
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The teams
West Ham United: Fabianski, Coufal, Mavropanos, Zouma, Emerson Palmieri, Soucek, Ward-Prowse, Bowen, Lucas Paqueta, Kudus, Antonio.
Subs: Johnson, Cresswell, Phillips, Cornet, Ings, Ogbonna, Earthy, Mubama, Anang.
Tottenham Hotspur: Vicario, Porro, Romero, van de Ven, Udogie, Bissouma, Bentancur, Johnson, Maddison, Werner, Son.
Subs: Hojbjerg, Dragusin, Richarlison, Emerson, Lo Celso, Kulusevski, Sarr, Davies, Austin.
Referee: John Brooks (Leicestershire).
Representing east London ⚒️ pic.twitter.com/3dhGhWkk3s
— West Ham United (@WestHam) April 2, 2024
Up the Spurs! 🤍 pic.twitter.com/CyrPV01n3a
— Tottenham Hotspur (@SpursOfficial) April 2, 2024
Preamble
These two teams, boy oh boy. So let’s see. West Ham are coming off the back of a match they managed to lose despite having been 3-1 up with 13 minutes to play; Spurs meanwhile lost their last away fixture 3-0, and won the one preceding that by four goals. So good luck predicting which way tonight’s game is going to go. Chances are, though, it’ll be a doozy. Kick off at the London Stadium is 8.15pm. Mayhem ahoy! It’s on!
