Premier League

TOTTENHAM 1 (Romero 11)
WEST HAM 2 (Bowen 52, Ward-Prowse 74)

TOTTENHAM boss Ange Postecoglou did not mince his words after watching his team take the lead for the fifth game in a row tonight – and still lose.

Postecoglou saw Spurs dominate West Ham for long periods, yet their visitors snatched all three points as Tottenham stretched their recent run to four defeats and a draw in their last five Premier League outings.

“We do not have the conviction in front of goal to finish it off,” Postecoglou lamented.

West Ham, on the other hand, did. They came, saw, wobbled, rode their luck and then completed an act of daylight robbery as Spurs went down 2-1 to their London rivals.

Second-half goals from Jarrod Bowen and James Ward-Prowse sealed the win for David Moyes’ team, cancelling out Cristian Romero’s 11th-minute header.

This was Tottenham’s season so far squeezed into 90 minutes: some absolutely scintillating stuff, a lack of finishing, and then being undone by a short back-pass, a slip in possession and a 50/50 that fell the wrong way.

Speaking after the game, Postecoglou said no one should kid themselves that Spurs were playing “good” football. He explained: “Us being good means us being 3-0 up, 1-0 at half time was not a good performance. A good performance is leading 3-0, 4-0 at half-time. We dominate and have to turn it into something more tangible.

“The two goals were terrible to concede. We have a long way to go and today is further evidence of that.”

Postecoglou said his players did not finish what they had started, adding: “If we were not creating chances you could accept that. But we had chances, especially in the first half, but we are lacking conviction at the moment.

“We are going through a spell where we need to show more conviction. We can’t feel sorry for ourselves and look for a cuddle. The only way is to come out on Sunday and not just play well but show some conviction about ourselves.

“We are facing teams with pedigree. When you have them down you have to put them away.”

Despite Postecoglou’s harsh words, this was still a million miles more enjoyable than the football served up last season under Antonio Conte, and the players must wonder what more they need to do to win.

By the half-hour mark, Tottenham had enjoyed 88 per cent of possession and peppered Lukasz Fabianski’s goal with efforts.

An opening 10-minute spell saw Fabianski protected by last-ditch defending. On 11, a flowing move down the Tottenham left lead by Dejan Kulusevski saw Spurs earn a corner. Pedro Porro’s pin-point cross found Romero’s head and the defender directed his effort into the far corner. Fabianski had no chance.

It was all Tottenham. Yves Bissouma and Giovani Lo Celso flew shots narrowly over, while Heung-Min Son and Brennan Johnson drew saves and had shots blocked.

At 1-0, and with West Ham simply inviting Spurs to pour forward, the home side were going to be vulnerable on the break. On 51 minutes a lumped ball found the always dangerous Bowen, who wriggled across the box. He laid it off for Mohammed Kudus to hit a speculative shot. The effort was blocked but then fell kindly for Bowen, who finished from close range.

It was a bucket of cold water over the exuberant Tottenham and suddenly West Ham were going toe-to-toe. On 74 minutes, a short back-pass from Destiny Udogie put Guglielmo Vicario in trouble. Ward-Prowse hit a shot that cannoned off the post, and the West Ham midfielder was closest to the rebound to finish.

Spurs sought an equaliser: substitute Richarlison was an inch away with a header – he should have scored – and Porro’s free-kick struck the upper arm of Kurt Zouma, prompting a VAR check for a penalty. The replay showed it did strike Zouma’s arm, and he had moved it to the ball – but the VAR team said it was too close to the shoulder. No penalty, and that was that, Tottenham were beaten.

Postecoglou’s side have now taken the lead in the last five games but have not won any of them. While the football has been immensely pleasing on the eye, we must remember that Tottenham are a work in progress.

They still bear that same soft underbelly. Whisper it, but Ange Ball is looking a bit Spurs-y.

Tottenham: Vicario, Porro, Romero, Davies, Udogie, Hojbjerg (Richarlison, 67), Bissouma (Gil, 84), Lo Celso (Skipp, 67), Kulusevski, Johnson (Sarr, 84), Son (Veliz, 87)
Substitutes not used: Forster, Royal, Dorrington, Donley

West Ham: Fabianski, Coufal, Zouma, Aguerd, Emerson, Soucek, Ward-Prowse, Alvarez, Kudus (Fornals, 88), Paqueta, Bowen
Substitutes not used: Anang, Cresswell, Mavropanos, Ings, Ogbonna, Benrahma, Kehrer, Mubama