report West Ham 2-0 Tottenham
theguardian
West Ham's Stewart Downing ensures simple win over 10-man Tottenham
This sorry performance was the last thing Tim Sherwood needed at the end of a week in which Ajax announced that their manager, Frank de Boer, was approached about a vacancy at White Hart Lane. Tottenham rubbished the Dutch club's claim but Sherwood confessed to being confused. He must have been appalled at how unconvincing his team's display was here, as Spurs started sluggishly and wound up a rabble.
Sherwood came into the game hoping his side would register the win that would leave them on course to equal last season's club record Premier League points tally, but his charges did not play as if they believed that was particularly important. Sherwood's overall statistics remain good but the decent win rate does not disguise some embarrassing defeats. Whether another manager could do better with these players is not certain but this result will not make the chairman, Daniel Levy, less likely to put the theory to the test.
For the second time in two months, a Tottenham visit to London rivals took a turn for the worse when Younès Kaboul was sent off. The defender's expulsion had been a key factor in the 4-0 defeat at Chelsea in March and his red card here in the 25th minute gave West Ham vital impetus as well as a numerical advantage. The score was 0-0 at the time, although Stewart Downing might have given the home side the lead if he had not been taken down by Kaboul at the edge of the area after catching out Danny Rose and running clear from halfway. It was a gauche foul by the Frenchman, leaving the referee, Phil Dowd, with little option but to send him off.
Andy Carroll unleashed a ferocious shot from the resultant free-kick, bringing a fine save from Hugo Lloris. But Tottenham's reprieve was only temporary, as from the ensuing corner Carroll headed Mark Noble's delivery into the net via a deflection off Harry Kane.
Sherwood withdrew Kane and introduced Vlad Chiriches from the bench to shore up his defence but his players' reaction to falling behind was feeble. They had been outfought in the frenetic exchanges before the red card even if they should have taken the lead in the fifth minute after a wonderful flowing counter-attack that was undone by a weak finish by Emmanuel Adebayor but once reduced to 10 men, their resistance melted away almost entirely. Lloris was an honourable exception and the French goalkeeper made a splendid one-handed save in the 36th minute to tip away a low drive from Matt Taylor.
Sherwood berated his side's lack of character after the loss at Stamford Bridge and the way that West Ham scored their second must have brought similar thoughts to his mind, as, in the 43rd minute, both Adebayor and Paulinho broke ranks in the wall. Downing's 20-yard free-kick hurtled through the gap and into the net.
Whatever Sherwood said during the break made no discernible difference to the players. Instead, Sam Allardyce's side, often lambasted by their own supporters this season for a lack of style, began to really enjoy themselves. Four minutes into the second half Mohamed Diamé brought gasps of admiration from the crowd when he met a Noble cross with a spectacular scissors kick that forced another excellent stop from Lloris. The goalkeeper kept the score down again moments later when he thwarted Kevin Nolan from close range after Carroll had beaten both Chiriches and Michael Dawson to a long free-kick. Carroll may be uncouth as a footballer but he has an ability to make almost any defender look oafish Roy Hodgson might just consider that a precious trait when he selects his World Cup squad.
Sherwood put on Sandro and Roberto Soldado for the final 25 minutes as West Ham's intensity dropped, but a Spurs comeback never looked likely.
Christian Eriksen did at least present Soldado with a chance to cut the deficit but the Spaniard dragged a tame shot across goal. Sherwood got confirmation that it was not his day when the referee rejected a late penalty appeal after a blatant handball. It was not until stoppage time that Tottenham forced Adrián into serious action, and the goalkeeper was still alert enough to make a superb stop to deny Danny Rose.
This sorry performance was the last thing Tim Sherwood needed at the end of a week in which Ajax announced that their manager, Frank de Boer, was approached about a vacancy at White Hart Lane. Tottenham rubbished the Dutch club's claim but Sherwood confessed to being confused. He must have been appalled at how unconvincing his team's display was here, as Spurs started sluggishly and wound up a rabble.
Sherwood came into the game hoping his side would register the win that would leave them on course to equal last season's club record Premier League points tally, but his charges did not play as if they believed that was particularly important. Sherwood's overall statistics remain good but the decent win rate does not disguise some embarrassing defeats. Whether another manager could do better with these players is not certain but this result will not make the chairman, Daniel Levy, less likely to put the theory to the test.
For the second time in two months, a Tottenham visit to London rivals took a turn for the worse when Younès Kaboul was sent off. The defender's expulsion had been a key factor in the 4-0 defeat at Chelsea in March and his red card here in the 25th minute gave West Ham vital impetus as well as a numerical advantage. The score was 0-0 at the time, although Stewart Downing might have given the home side the lead if he had not been taken down by Kaboul at the edge of the area after catching out Danny Rose and running clear from halfway. It was a gauche foul by the Frenchman, leaving the referee, Phil Dowd, with little option but to send him off.
Andy Carroll unleashed a ferocious shot from the resultant free-kick, bringing a fine save from Hugo Lloris. But Tottenham's reprieve was only temporary, as from the ensuing corner Carroll headed Mark Noble's delivery into the net via a deflection off Harry Kane.
Sherwood withdrew Kane and introduced Vlad Chiriches from the bench to shore up his defence but his players' reaction to falling behind was feeble. They had been outfought in the frenetic exchanges before the red card even if they should have taken the lead in the fifth minute after a wonderful flowing counter-attack that was undone by a weak finish by Emmanuel Adebayor but once reduced to 10 men, their resistance melted away almost entirely. Lloris was an honourable exception and the French goalkeeper made a splendid one-handed save in the 36th minute to tip away a low drive from Matt Taylor.
Sherwood berated his side's lack of character after the loss at Stamford Bridge and the way that West Ham scored their second must have brought similar thoughts to his mind, as, in the 43rd minute, both Adebayor and Paulinho broke ranks in the wall. Downing's 20-yard free-kick hurtled through the gap and into the net.
Whatever Sherwood said during the break made no discernible difference to the players. Instead, Sam Allardyce's side, often lambasted by their own supporters this season for a lack of style, began to really enjoy themselves. Four minutes into the second half Mohamed Diamé brought gasps of admiration from the crowd when he met a Noble cross with a spectacular scissors kick that forced another excellent stop from Lloris. The goalkeeper kept the score down again moments later when he thwarted Kevin Nolan from close range after Carroll had beaten both Chiriches and Michael Dawson to a long free-kick. Carroll may be uncouth as a footballer but he has an ability to make almost any defender look oafish Roy Hodgson might just consider that a precious trait when he selects his World Cup squad.
Sherwood put on Sandro and Roberto Soldado for the final 25 minutes as West Ham's intensity dropped, but a Spurs comeback never looked likely.
Christian Eriksen did at least present Soldado with a chance to cut the deficit but the Spaniard dragged a tame shot across goal. Sherwood got confirmation that it was not his day when the referee rejected a late penalty appeal after a blatant handball. It was not until stoppage time that Tottenham forced Adrián into serious action, and the goalkeeper was still alert enough to make a superb stop to deny Danny Rose.
