Premier League

WEST HAM UNITED 1 (Zouma 19)
TOTTENHAM 1 (Johnson 5)

A FRUSTRATING away draw at West Ham tonight (Tuesday) means Ange Postecoglou’s Tottenham side missed a golden opportunity to level up with fourth-placed Aston Villa.

Spurs got off to a flyer through a Brennan Johnson tap-in inside five minutes, but allowed an unsubtle West Ham to blunder their way back into the game via a Kurt Zouma header from a corner.

David Moyes’ team shook off an early torpor and, with a partisan crowd behind them, will feel they had a chance to take more. But for Spurs, it felt like two points dropped instead of one gained.

Speaking post match, Postecoglou said: “I thought, for the most part, we controlled the game pretty well. It is a tough place to come and they are a big, strong team. They sat deep, and made it difficult. You know you have to be calm in your approach and disciplined – they are always a threat on the counter. On the most part, we handled that well.”

Bemoaning a goal conceded from a corner, Postecoglou said that he thought his side had stood up after the equaliser. The Tottenham boss added: “We lacked a little clarity in thought and in our decision making. We got into some good areas and could have got some much better outcomes. But our general play was really good.”

The squad’s strength meant Postecoglou could shuffle the pack tactically – and give players a rest after Saturday’s exertions in the 2-1 victory over Luton Town. Pape Matar Sarr was dropped for Rodrigo Bentancur. Dejan Kulusevski stood down and the lively Johnson was drafted in, while at the back, Micky van de Ven stepped back into the centre alongside Cristian Romero.

The changes made for a lively start, with Johnson putting Spurs ahead with his first touch of the game. Bentancur did well to break up a West Ham move and Tottenham poured forward. Heung-Min Son found Timo Werner and he dawdled long enough for support to arrive. Going outside his man, the loanee laid a ball flat and low, which Johnson was on hand to tap home from inside the six-yard box.

Spurs looked bright: moments later, Pedro Porro drove wide when better options were available, and then Johnson should have picked out James Maddison as he broke through the Hammers back four.

West Ham were chasing shadows but got back into it via a set-piece in the 19th minute. A decent attack down the Spurs left saw Jarrod Bowen whack a cross over that van de Ven had to turn away for a corner. Zouma rose in the scrum and fudged a know-nothing header home. It gave the Hammers a boost in what was a tepid start to a usually feisty derby.

The equaliser gave West Ham renewed confidence and the running of Bowen, the power of Michail Antonio and the guile of Lucas Paqueta caused issues, but Tottenham always looked dangerous when they got hold of the ball. However, the north Londoners desperately lacked a killer touch up top. Plenty of moments asked for a boot to be swung and a shot to be unleashed, but instead a strange timidity infected the front three when a gap did open up.

On 47, Bentancur lazily lost possession on the edge of his box and Guglielmo Vicario was required to make a save he had no right to make. From the resulting corner, the goalkeeper was again required to claw a goalbound effort away.

Spurs had been warned about the Hammers set-pieces and it was always the likeliest way the home side were going to threaten, though Paqueta showed how dangerous he can be on early in the second half when he sent a shot narrowly past the post.

Up the other end, Spurs suffered from wanting to walk the ball in. They created some pretty patterns high up but time and again took one too many passes and allowed West Ham to recover.

On 59, after a Tottenham break had been snuffed out, Antonio bustled through van de Ven and looked certain to finish. Vicario thought otherwise and got down brilliantly to smother the shot.

Postecoglou shook things up by introducing Sarr and Kulusevski on 70 minutes for the two midfield creators in Maddison and Bentancur. Spurs looked more direct immediately, but it was more of the same once they reached the penalty box.

Destiny Udogie, Sarr and Son all wasted shooting opportunities, Kulusevski saw one blocked, and Werner lamely ducked out of a 50/50 at the back post before he was hooked.

Spurs, once again this season, left the pitch having played well – but not quite well enough.

West Ham: Fabianski, Coufal, Mavropanos, Zouma, Emerson, Soucek, Ward-Prowse, Paqueta, Kudus, Bowen, Antonio
Substitutes not used: Anang, Johnson, Cresswell, Phillips, Cornet, Ings, Ogbonna, Earthy, Mubama

Tottenham: Vicario, Porro, Romero, van de Ven, Udogie, Bissouma (Hojbjerg, 82), Bentancur (Sarr, 70), Johnson (Lo Celso, 90), Maddison (Kulusevski, 70), Werner (Richarlison, 82), Son
Substitutes not used: Austin, Dragusin, Royal, Davies