In the days leading up to today’s “Cup Final” with those guys, the topic most debated on here and podcasts like Moore Than Just A Podcast and The West Ham Way was formation and team selection. And the entire debate concentrated on Hernandez and Carroll. In the case of our Fox In The Box per se, Bilic was rightfully questioned about the real estate our most important signing had been asked to cover recently. As for the big guy, it wasn’t as much an issue with him playing but an issue with the world seemingly revolving around him when he’s healthy. It wasn’t too long ago that supporters wondered if Carroll’s days were numbered without the four hundred thousand pound man in charge. Add to that equation the types of players signed both last year and this, and the phrase Target Man might have been more relevant to some guy collecting the carts outside my absolute favorite store for everyday “stuff” than it was for our numero nueve. When today’s lineup was posted on Twitter, there was a moment of excited curiosity followed by the very familiar feeling of seeing he had possibly taken a knock. Slaven decided to go with pace, both in the middle and on the flanks. The results were mixed.
At least from a strategic perspective, we got an idea of what might be possible in the fifth minute when Arnautovic decided to run at the Spurs back line down the left instead of sending in a hopeful cross. There was nobody there to hook up with his low pass in the box, but the endeavor seemed to be there.
Arnautovic showed that endeavor again in the 16th minute when he ran down a low pass from Noble, but a well timed tackle from Aurier in the box stopped what likely would have been an excellent chance. Minutes later yet another run down the left by the Austrian ended with him trying to find Antonio at the far post but the pass was just long. While no shots were fired on goal, they were fired across the bow of The Battleship Spurs.
Spurs had their first chance of the match in the 24th minute when Aurier sent a low cross into the box that Kane couldn’t handle and thankfully for The Hammers it bounced off the inside of his foot and out for a goal kick.
The match changed completely in the 27th minute when Antonio pulled up injured and was replaced by the man whose absence created the original plan, Andy Carroll. Antonio faced a late fitness test to even be included, and if he faces any serious time out of action that decision will come under scrutiny. West Ham looked somewhat effective under the starting eleven, so at the very least one could hope Bilic took note of that.
If you wanted to make an argument for Noble starting today’s match, it was that nobody understood the depth of this fixture more than him. There are more than a few who would prefer to beat Spurs and finish 17th than be smashed by them and finish 8th. That passion was on full display when Noble and Sissoko tangled in midfield, which included a jaw to jaw discussion of the previous events. It ended with a chat with Michael Oliver and a handshake. Game on.
Moments later, the always important first goal belonged to the visitors. Eriksen played Alli on the left, and Alli found Kane with a cross that the England talisman headed past Hart. Replays showed Kane might have been offside, but the officials didn’t see it that way.
West Ham 0
Spurs 1
I didn’t have time to finish the description above before Eriksen again started an attack, this time down the right, with another pass to Alli. The young England superstar went for goal, and forced a good save from Hart. But Hart couldn’t handle the rebound and the ball bounced to Kane as if it had a guidance system on board and Kane rolled it in to the empty net.
Halftime
West Ham 0
Spurs 2
West Ham began the second half as they began the first half, at least on the left with Arnautovic. He tried to make things happen, but in the end all he made happen was a few throw ins and goal kicks. A little possession can go a long way with quality and options. With neither of those available, well…..you know.
Spurs seemed to put the game out of reach in the 60th minute when Kane took a free kick from 30 yards out and went for goal. His laser beam delivery bounced off the post, but seconds later the ball landed on the right foot of Eriksen and ended up behind Hart.
West Ham 0
Spurs 3
The Hammers tried to begin a long journey back in the 64th minute when a Noble corner was headed goal bound where Hernandez was there to head it past Lloris for his third goal of the season. While it eventually meant nothing to the outcome of the match, we can hope it helped keep our most natural goal scorer hungry for more.
West Ham 1
Spurs 3
Aurier began his day on the edge with some potentially bookable moments. If he did that stupid thing with his hair today as well, then his bad judgement began hours earlier. In the span of six minutes his decisions could have cost the visitors dearly when he was shown two yellows and was sent off.
Hernandez worked himself into a good position in the 79th minute and fired a hard shot right at Lloris. A few inches left or right and we might have had a fun final ten minutes.
The fun, as it was, instead began in the 86th minute when Masuaku made an overlapping run with Cresswell on the left side of the Spurs penalty area and sent a hard cross into the box that Kouyate attacked ferociously and slammed a header past Lloris.
West Ham 2
Spurs 3
The most important moment after that second goal came when the fourth official lifted his board and showed four minutes of added time. Seconds after that announcement, Masuaku won a corner but West Ham couldn’t capitalize.
West Ham won another corner from a low shot by Carroll, but the delivery was too high for anyone to get to. The Hammers did their level best to find the equalizer in the final moments but to no avail. Reid in fact was lucky not to be shown a straight red when he put his hands on Llorente’s face during a large, shall we say, group discussion deep into injury time.
Final Score
West Ham 2
Spurs 3
Look, I didn’t expect anything from today. And the spirit showed after Hernandez and Kouyate scored was good to see. But it’s by no means a stretch to say everything changed when Antonio went off injured. And it changed for the worse. Look at Spurs first two goals. Carroll lost possession at midfield for the first, which allowed Eriksen to launch the counter that led Kane’s header. The second goal came as a result of a long goal kick from Hart, and it doesn’t take a genius to figure out who the target was. Bilic’s decision to choose Carroll over Ayew or Sakho was also a decision to change the tactics entirely. Whatever we might think of Ayew or Sakho, West Ham might have been able to stick to the game plan that looked reasonably OK for the first twenty minutes or so.
The next four matches are all winnable. While I hate playing the game that puts a minimum number of points over a group of fixtures, seven points from the next four games is a must. Otherwise we will be looking at other teams in and around the drop zone, hoping results go our way.
Which they don’t always do.