Many thanks to Declan Mulcahy for this report:-

Sunday 4 May 2025, 2:00pm
Premier League
West Ham United (1) 1 Tottenham Hotspur (1) 1

West Ham scorer:-
Bowen, 28

Spurs scorer:-
Odobert, 15

West Ham United (3-4-2-1): Graham Potter
23 A Areola; 25 J-C Todibo (5 V Coufal 80), 26 M Kilman, 3 A Cresswell (15 K. Mavropanos 88); 29 A Wan-Bissaka, 28 T Soucek (4 C Soler 80), 10 Lucas Paqueta (8 J Ward-Prowse 80), 33 Emerson; 20 J Bowen (c), 14 M. Kudus; 11 N Fullkrug (34 E Ferguson 80)

Subs not used: 1 Fabianski, 17 Luis Guilherme, 24 G Rodriquez, 18 D Ings

Booked: Kudus (19 foul on Danso), 10 Lucas Paqueta (73 foul on Moore)

Tottenham Hotspur (4-3-3):
1 G Vicario (c); 14 A Gray, 4 K Danso, 33 B Davies, 24 D Spence; 21 D Kulusevski, 8 Y Bissouma, 29 P Sarr; 28 W Odobert, 9 Richarlison (47 M Moore 68), 11 M Tel.

Subs not used: 31 A Kinsky, 23 Pedro Porro, 13 D Udogie, 17 C Romero, 37 M van de Ven, 30 R Bentancur, 22 B Johnson, 63 D Ajayi

Booked: Davies (13 foul on Fullkrug), Tel (88 foul on Kilman)

London Stadium, Attendance: 62,468

Referee:- Michael Oliver
Assistants:- Stuart Burt, James Mainwaring
Fourth official:- Ruebyn Ricardo
VAR:- Darren England
Assistant VAR:- Peter Wright

The battle for London's worst Premier League team ends in stalemate

Thanks to Eugene Gasper for the picture

This was a mediocre affair yielding ample evidence, that with the exception of the bottom three who were relegated earlier than ever before, these are the two worst teams in the Premier League. Each side scored a goal which in both cases resulted from the defensive frailties of their opponents. It was another familiar encounter in a very depressing Premier League season.

As with last weekend's Premier League match against Liverpool, Ange Postecoglou made eight changes from the previous game showing how low a priority he assigns to the league campaign at this stage. Two were enforced due to injuries to James Maddison and Dominic Solanke. The other six consisted of the back four, Bentancur and Johnson. All six were listed as substitutes simply to make up the numbers since none of them were used. In the absence of Son, Romero and Maddison, Guglielmo Vicario captained the side from the start for the first time.

Graham Potter made two changes from the side which led Brighton & Hove Albion away 2-1 with seven minutes remaining last weekend but lost 3-2. Mavropanos and Ward-Prowse were replaced by Kilman and Fullkrug. He altered the formation from (3-5-2) to (3-4-2-1) to accommodate the latter.

West Ham had the better of the early exchanges. After about seven minutes Kudus crossed the ball from the left. It hit Sarr's arm which was in a natural position. The Hammers' supporters wanted a penalty but the officials were quite rightly not interested.

Five minutes later Davies committed a heavy tackle on Fullkrug just outside the box and was booked. The Hammers wasted the free kick.

A couple of minutes later Spurs worked the ball down the other end. It looked fairly innocuous as Maximilian Kilman moved to take control of the ball on the left side. Tel dispossessed him and crossed to Odobert on the far side. Areola came out to try and block Odobert but the latter coolly steered the ball past him into the empty net. It was a goal against the run of play. This was Odobert's first Premier League goal for Spurs. Both players deserved credit. Tel caught the eye throughout the match and could start on Thursday night in Bodo/Glimt.

Kudus was booked for a very high challenge on Danso with his boot. The same player had been sent off late in the fixture at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium earlier in the season. Vicario made a poor clearance straight to Soucek but the opportunity was wasted.

The Hammers had another penalty claim when a Wan-Bissaka cross hit Davies' arm but it was another case of the arm in a natural position and was again ignored. Todibo fouled Tel outside the box on the left but the latter wasted the free-kick.

West Ham equalised with the best move of the match. Wan-Bissaka played the ball in behind Spence to Bowen on the right wing. He ran into the box and still faced Davies and Vicario. He managed to score with a shot from a tight angle despite the efforts of both players. The two Spurs players were culpable and Vicario was nutmegged. Bowen was the only player who showed any passion for West Ham and was probably the outstanding player on the pitch today.

Kudus committed a heavy tackle on Spence which was risky given that he was already on a yellow card but got away with it.

Odobert crossed from the left but Richarlison's effort was too high. The same two players combined with Richarlison in possession in the box. He should have had an effort on goal but chose to cross the ball. Unfortunately there wasn't a Spurs player to connect with it.

There were no changes at half time.

Tel made another good run from the left but Areola saved his effort. This was followed by a Richarlison snap shot which was too high. Kudus set up Bowen whose attempt was wide.

Spence put in a dangerous cross but Cresswell prevented it from reaching Richarlison. Spurs finally won their first corner after an hour but Bissouma's effort from Tel's set piece was high. Soon after Bissouma and Bowen collided with the latter accidently hitting Bissouma in the face. He was felled but didn't need treatment.

At the halfway point in the half Postecoglou made his only change when the lesser-spotted Mikey Moore came on to replace Richarlison. He clearly wasn't prepared to bring on any of the substitutes who will start against Bodo/Glimt in an effort to obtain a result today.

Kudus crossed from the left but Fullkrug whose main strength is heading the ball put it over the bar.

A strange incident followed. Paqueta was rightly booked for a tackle on Moore. He continued to protest his innocence. He continued to protest and referee Michael Oliver asked Bowen the captain to talk to him. He appeared to be close to tears. It was hard to know what caused the reaction as it was only a yellow card and the tackle justified it.

With ten minutes remaining Graham Potter made a quadruple substitution with Soucek, Paqueta, Todibo and Fullkrug being replaced by Soler, Ward-Prowse, Coufal and Ferguson. There were now two players on the pitch who had played under Potter at Brighton & Hove Albion, Ferguson for the Hammers and Bissouma for Spurs.

The changes had a positive effect for West Ham since they now had Ward-Prowse on who could exploit dead-ball situations.

Almost immediately West Ham were awarded a soft free kick for a foul by Danso on Kudus. Ward-Prowse sent in a dangerous ball from the left which Bowen flicked goal-bound but Vicario made a good save at close range.

In time added on Odobert fouled Solar outside the box. Ward-Prowse lifted his free kick over the wall but it went about a foot wide of the left post.

This was not a game which will be remembered when Spurs v Hammers games are recalled. Spurs have the slight consolation that they remain a point above West Ham on 38 points and sixteenth place. They also avoided a record 20th defeat in a Premier League season.

The Hammer's supporters didn't seem to be impressed with their team's performance and could be seen leaving the stadium before the end of the game despite the fact that the result was still uncertain.

While the Europa League remains the priority for Spurs the awful league performances and the lack of inclination to take the slightest risk in the Premier League is frustrating. This was a poor West Ham team and taking a little risk could have produced a better outcome. Spurs are on course for their worst finish in the Premier League and could end up with their worst finish since they were relegated in 1976-77.

The focus now moves to the second leg of the Europa League semi-final in Bodo/Glimt on Thursday evening. Bergvall and Maddison both appear to be out of contention and it is too early to determine whether or not Son and Solanke will be available.

An away fan's view from the top of the London Stadium

Thanks to Kevan Silver for the picture

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