Tottenham vs West Ham a few quick thoughts
Dan Tracey
October 26, 2017
2,023 Views
- Mauricio Pochettino’s men suffered Wembley woe last night
- It can be pretty much summed up in one word – capitulation
- A much changed albeit still strong looking starting eleven took to the field last night and got off to the perfect start when Moussa Sissoko put Tottenham ahead after just six minutes
- A lightning fast counter attack saw Heung min-Son thread through an inch perfect ball to the French international and that was left for him to do was slot the ball past Adrian
- First blood Tottenham as they moved into the ascendancy and got an early foothold in the game
- Dele Alli was next to test Adrian only this time his header was well saved
- Tottenham’s aim now was to get a second goal before the break and well and truly take the wind out of West Ham sails
- West Ham had possession but did not really trouble a Tottenham back three which included Toby Alderweireld and Ben Davies
- Andy Carroll was growing more and more frustrated in the first half as he failed to get the service he requires
- His first half and that of West Ham’s in general would get worse when Dele Alli doubled Tottenham’s advantage eight minutes before the break
- Once again it was neat footwork from the South Korean international Son which unlocked the door
- His pass on the edge of the box found Alli whose shot may have taken a slight deflection before nestling past Adrian to make it 2-0
- Tottenham went into the break believing the job was as good as done
- And that would prove to be their downfall
- Slaven Bilic must have given something of an inspirational team talk at half time as whatever he said worked to it’s fullest effect
- The Croatian reportedly only has two matches to save his job but last night’s dramatic comeback would have certainly bought him some time
- The aim for Mauricio Pochettino would have been get an early third goal and then make some substitutions with Manchester United in mind on Saturday
- Only West Ham had other ideas
- Tottenham’s complacency was punished 10 minutes after the restart when Andre Ayew scored his first of the evening
- After Michel Vorm spilled an initial effort, Ben Davies was too slow to leave the box and the Ghanian prodded home to at least make the tie something of a contest
- But five minutes later this tie would be turned on it’s head when Ayew got his second of the night
- Once again Tottenham were caught ball watching as Miguel Lanzini’s speculative ball was met by Ayew who showed the most anticipation and after an hour we were all level
- Tottenham were on the ropes and West Ham could smell blood
- Ten minutes later the Hammers landed a knock out blow
- Angelo Ogbonna would rise virtually unchallenged to complete the fightback and put the East London outfit ahead for the first time in the game
- Tottenham were well and truly shellshocked and now they had to find an equaliser
- The one thing Mauricio Pochettino did not want was extra time what with a big game on Saturday
- But it looked as if it was going to be a necessary evil if their time in this season’s Carabao Cup was not to come to an abrupt end
- Both Dele Alli and Moussa Sissoko were denied a second by Adrian
- Alli had a volley from inside the area that was well saved while Sissoko saw his curling effort dealt with
- Pochettino had to now roll the dice and bring on what big guns he had as Mousa Dembele and Christian Eriksen took to the field in search of an equaliser
- One that did not come as Tottenham were dumped out of the competition
- In a season where many feel that this club need to win a trophy to keep hold of their star names this will be a huge opportunity missed
- It may only be the Carabao Cup but it could have been something to at least fill a relatively bare trophy cabinet
- If Tottenham are to win a trophy then they are going to have to do it the hard way
- After a run of results at Wembley which have built some momentum at their new ‘home’
- This was most definitely a night to forget
- Credit goes to West Ham for their comeback but Tottenham won’t play a worse 45 minutes for a long time
- What effect it has on Saturday lunchtime we will have to wait and see
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