Morrison's fantasy football helps West Ham hammer Spurs
Before the game at White Hart Lane, there were worries about some of the songs the Tottenham fans might be singing.
But with 21 minutes to go, the home fans were silent, and all the singing was coming from the West Ham fans. It was that good. This was a win that will be talked about for years.
On paper, West Ham didnt have a hope. No goals away from home this season, and no strikers to score them either but in a piece of twisted logic, manager Sam Allardyce turned this deficiency into a tactical feature, fielding a team without a proper target man, which seemed to confuse Spurs.
After a tight first half defensive performance, with James Tomkins particularly impressive, West Ham opened up a bit after the break, and once Tottenham began to try their luck without any joy, the visitors did the last thing anyone expected. They scored. Not once, but three times.
What was going on This was West Ham, the team who didnt even seem to know it was in the rules that they were allowed to score away from home. But having tormented and annoyed their fans so far this season with their lack of striking threat, finally they gave them something to cheer.
First Winston Reid poked home from close range, after Kevin Nolan inadvertently blocked his goal-bound header, allowing him a second bite at the cherry. Another helpful deflection made it 2-0, as Ricardo Vaz Tes shot was blocked and played straight back into his path by goalkeeper Hugo Lloris. But if anyone thought West Hams lead was just down to luck, the third dispelled that. It was pure football brilliance.
Footballs not supposed to be like this. This was the sort of goal that you only have scored against you, not by your team and certainly not to make it 3-0 against your biggest rivals, when youve waited 14 years to win at their place.
But thats what Ravel Morrison did, covering half of the pitch with a brilliant solo run and evading Jan Vertonghens pants-grabbing challenge to lift the ball delicately over the advancing Lloris, sealing a glorious 3-0 win. Does football get more satisfying than this
West Hams last Premier League win at White Hart Lane was in April 1999. Sent off for them that day was John Moncur. Last week, his son George was given a West Ham first-team squad number thats how long theyve been waiting for a win there.
One swallow does not a summer make West Hams forward deficiencies are all too apparent to anyone who has watched them this term but when the swallow has been awaited so long, you can be forgiven for taking great pleasure in admiring its plumage.
Until Andy Carroll, the cornerstone of Allardyces tactical construct, is fit, West Hams season is effectively on hold. But with two weeks until the next Premier League match for him to recover, if this marked the belated start of the campaign, it was well worth the wait.
