Skip to main content

Tottenham misses chance to go top by losing 1-0 at West Ham

LONDON (AP) Tottenham missed a rare chance to go top of the Premier League on Wednesday when West Ham won their London derby 1-0 to go within a point of the four Champions League places.

Michail Antonio was West Ham's match-winner for the second successive game, netting in the seventh minute to hand second-place Tottenham only a fourth loss of the league campaign.

''They should be more happy with the result than us,'' West Ham manager Slaven Bilic said. ''It should have been more (goals).''

On a night when Tottenham, Arsenal and Manchester City all lost, the main winner of a midweek round of games was Leicester after the leaders drew on Tuesday.

Although West Ham remains sixth, it is only a point behind fourth-place City, which lost 3-0 at Liverpool.

''Every manager is trying to calm things down,'' Bilic said. ''It's a very, very open season.''

Had Spurs extended a six-game winning streak they could have moved to the summit for the first time in the second half of the season in 21 years.

But Mauricio Pochettino's side is three points behind Leicester and three above Arsenal, which it hosts in Saturday's north London derby.

''The first half we were poor and the second half we tried to play in the way we play normally,'' Pochettino said.

''I think we made some mistakes that we normally don't make. It was difficult.''

Tottenham had recovered a league-leading 17 points from losing positions this season. Not on this night, though, on Tottenham's last-ever trip across east London to the soon-to-be demolished Upton Park.

Antonio's early header at the near post beat Hugo Lloris as the Tottenham goalkeeper tried in vain to stop it going over the line.

''He is great, he is very versatile and he has improved a lot,'' Bilic said of the 25-year-old Antonio, who joined in September after a career in the lower leagues.

''There is no reason why he shouldn't continue (to improve) if he continues to work hard, if he doesn't become big-headed. That's his job and it's also our job to keep him on the ground.''

West Ham did get the ball in the net again before halftime, but there was a reprieve when Emmanuel Emenike was flagged for offside. West Ham was completely overpowering Spurs and curbing any threat.

In the second half, Tottenham was a team revitalized and finally discovering where the opposition goal was.

Hitting the net was the problem. Erik Lamela's weak header went wide and Ryan Mason struck wide from distance

Goalkeeper Adrian denied Harry Kane on the hour and the striker couldn't make a clean connection on the rebound.

In the sustained spell of Tottenham pressure, Adrian also parried a shot from Christian Eriksen in the 64th minute and Kane missed a chance at the far post with his outstretched left boot.

Just like the legal fight to gain control of the Olympic Stadium from August, West Ham emerged victorious against Tottenham.

The prospect of Tottenham heading to the main 2012 Games stadium as champions for the first time since 1961 is still plausible. But in this erratic season, the destination of the trophy in 10 games time remains unpredictable.