West Ham vs Tottenham match report: Michail Antonio's early goal spoils party for rival Spurs

West Ham United 1 Tottenham Hotspur 0

(Reuters)

For West Ham fans now counting their games left at the Boleyn Ground on one hand, it could not be much sweeter than this. Slaven Bilic’s team produced their best performance of the season, under lights, and put a noticeable dent in Tottenham’s title bid while they were at it. West Ham fans hoping to leave their old home with a sense of history may have it here, depending on what happens in Spurs’ last 10 games.

This was the night when Spurs could have gone top of the table. Manchester City and Arsenal both lost, in far more ignominious circumstances than these, and Leicester drew at home to West Bromwich Albion the day before. This was a good chance to take a step towards the title, but it was a chance West Ham simply did not allow Spurs to take.

For the whole season Spurs have run teams off pitches all over England. Last night, though, Mauricio Pochettino learned how it felt with roles reversed. All year he has carefully managed his resources so that his team performed with maximum intensity. Last night, even with four changes, they looked flat and sluggish, the worst things that a Pochettino side could be.

This was the biggest game of Spurs’ season so far and yet they barely registered on the first half here. Pochettino spoke before this game about what true character was in football, “to take the ball, take a risk and to play in the way that we play”. But there was precious little of that, especially in the first half, with a Spurs’ midfield devoid of Mousa Dembele and Dele Alli devoid of any real presence or purpose. There was a brief improvement in the second half but not enough to turn a game which West Ham already had under control.

It is far too early, in this unique season, with 10 games to go, to describe any slip as fatal, any trend as terminal. We have only just got into March, to say nothing of April or May. Spurs are certainly capable of winning the league from here. But it will be very difficult for anyone connected with Spurs to look at the table this morning and not feel a sense of regret that they are still second, still just three points ahead of Arsenal, and now three behind Leicester City as well. At least they have the chance to make amends on Saturday lunchtime, when they host Arsenal at White Hart Lane. However frustrated they will feel about this defeat, Arsenal will feel worse, having taken the lead at home to Swansea City and then somehow lost.

Spurs, of course, did not lose in a vacuum last night. They lost because they were outplayed, out-run and out-thought by a West Ham side who, as is their habit, raised their level for the biggest occasion. There will not be many more nights here like this.

The atmosphere has been improving for every game left at the Boleyn Ground, and this was the best of the season yet, even louder and more potent than the FA Cup replay defeat of Liverpool last month. There are just five games left here now, just one under lights, but none against a rival as unpopular as Tottenham. Few will be as good as this.

West Ham were fired up, but their early edge was more than just motivational. For the first time of his tenure, Slaven Bilic used a 3-4-2-1 system, with Cheikhou Kouyate playing as a centre-back. Ceding the wings, they smothered Spurs in the middle, and did so with an intensity that even Tottenham themselves could not live with.

Nacer Chadli, brought in on the left for Heung-Min Son, was immediately discomfited and cost his side a corner, underhitting a pass to Ben Davies. Dimitri Payet curled the ball in, Michail Antonio darted to the near post, jumped ahead of Chadli and headed past Hugo Lloris.

West Ham controlled the rest of the first half, repeatedly breezing through a Spurs side that looked unusually rattled. Hugo Lloris had to save from Mark Noble, Toby Alderweireld and Kevin Wimmer were both booked, and Michail Antonio had a goal disallowed for offside. Their 1-0 half-time lead, like the final score, felt like an understatement.

Spurs improved after half time, but not by enough. Erik Lamela headed a Kieran Trippier cross just wide, and Adrian had to save from Alderweireld, but that was pretty much that. Alli came on, and sped up Spurs’ attacks. Heung-Min Son followed to add energy, and then Tom Carroll to add class, but none of it made very much difference. They pushed and pushed but the siege never amounted to much in the end.