4 May 2025
West Ham 1 Tottenham 1
West Ham welcomed Tottenham for a London derby to decide who the worst team from the capital is in the Premier League. Both are having woeful seasons and their managers are under intense pressure. In fact, Ange Postecoglou may only keep his job by winning the Europa League this season. No such European ambitions for The Hammers right now.
It was clear to see from his team selection where Spurs’ priorities now lie. Only three players remained from the side that beat Bodo/Glimt in midweek. Not that it seemed to matter as they took an early lead in the match. Kilman was caught dwelling on the ball as Tel capitalised and squared it into the box. It went through everyone and broke to Odobert at the back post.
The former Burnley winger slotted home to silence the London Stadium. It was a harsh blow to the hosts so early on in this derby. Not that they could complain, they had been the architects of their own downfall. It is this type of defending that has seen them teetering above the bottom three for the majority of the season.
You wonder whether Graham Potter will make it to the summer transfer window with West Ham. There are just no signs of encouragement for this project of his, it is the same thing every week. The manager has struggled to replicate the form he had at Brighton, which tempted Chelsea to come in for a big money off to secure his services.
Some of the home fans were crying for a penalty to be awarded after Soucek played in Wan-Bissaka out wide. The full-back’s cross deflected off Davies and into the arms of Vicario. Many thought it had struck an arm on the way through but as the replayed underpinned it had simply struck the stomach of the Spurs’ defender and was in fact a good decision from the officials.
West Ham continued to pile on the pressure in the final third. Wan-Bissaka had so much space to work with but held it well until the perfect moment. He slotted a pass in behind the Tottenham defence for Bowen to run onto. Despite being at a seemingly impossible angle, he slotted the ball through the legs of Vicario to get The Hammers back on level terms.
Postecoglou’s side could have taken the lead again as Tel slotted Richarlison in. Nobody still knows whether what came next was a cross or a shot, but either way, it went well wide of the target. The manager’s face said it all on the touchline. Both sides headed in at the break on level terms, with a winner seemingly impossible to predict at this point.
After the break it was the visitors who had the first sight of goal. Spence played a good ball through for Tel to run onto but his shot, from a narrow angle, was very poor. He sent a scuffed effort straight at Areola for the simplest of saves. When you look at the Bayern Munich striker’s stats, he really hasn’t set the world alight with his goal return and you could see why.
The Hammers started to grow into the game more. Kudus put a deep cross into the box that was superbly controlled by Bowen. He struck a left-footed volley narrowly wide with most of the ground expecting to see the net bulge. The forward is so integral to this West Ham side and they would probably be getting relegated this campaign without him.
Kudus continued to torment the Spurs defence and crossed into the back post again. Fullkrug attacked it but headed over the targe, it was a good chance for the hosts to take the lead in the game for the first time. The German stood with his head in his hands, he likes to talk the talk in the media it seems but struggles to walk the walk on the pitch.
In a rare Tottenham attack, Sarr tried his luck from some way out. He struck his effort well but it just did not have enough dip on it to beat Areola. The visitors had really failed to work the West Ham keeper at all in the second-half. It almost seemed as if they were trying to keep some juice in the tank for their semi-final in midweek.
The Hammers in fact looked the more likely to grab a winner. As a curling cross came into the box, Bowen looked to flick it on but Vicario made a good save to claw it out of the goal. In the dying embers of the game, Ward-Prowse had a chance to make a mark with free-kick just outside the box. It left the Spurs’ keeper rooted to the spot as it hit the stanchion behind the goal.
It was a drab London derby and the points were shared. The managers will no doubt find positives to draw upon to try and deflect away from their own job insecurity right now. Spurs’ trip to Norway is pivotal for the club to try and make something of the season. For West Ham, they are no doubt relishing summers spent on the beach forgetting all about it.
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