Tottenham Hotspur vs West Ham United. Premier League.
Wembley StadiumAttendance50,034.
Friday 5 January 2018 08:30, UK
Heung-Min Son's late piledriver cancelled out Pedro Obiang's stunning effort to spare Tottenham's blushes in a 1-1 draw with West Ham at Wembley.
The relegation-threatened Hammers spent the majority of the game on the back foot but Obiang's 70th-minute thunderbolt - their first shot on target - moved them to within reach of an unlikely victory.
But Son's 10th goal of the season salvaged a point for Spurs, who remain fifth in the Premier League. David Moyes' men extended their unbeaten Wembley run to nine games, and climbed up to 15th in the table as a result.
West Ham's goal was under threat from the first whistle. Declan Rice was forced to hook a Kane effort, which flashed across goal, away on four minutes before a flap from Adrian at the resulting corner presented Eric Dier with a chance, but his effort was blocked.
The Hammers weathered the early Spurs onslaught but remained firmly on the back foot; the offside flag coming to their rescue as Kane's deflected effort was correctly ruled out.
Kane drew Adrian into action with the game's first shot on target on 28 minutes, and Son and Eriksen tested the Hammers goalkeeper soon after as Spurs cranked up the pressure.
However, West Ham reached the interval unscathed, with Kane unable to take Serge Aurier's 34th-minute knock-down into his stride before Eriksen's deflected effort drew a fingertip save from Adrian.
A misplaced pass from Davinson Sanchez released Javier Hernandez through on goal shortly before the hour, but the Spurs centre-back showed great pace to recover.
Pablo Zabaleta's last-gasp intervention denied Kane at the end of a flowing 67th-minute attack, with Alli heading the rebound over, and West Ham's dogged defensive display was soon rewarded as Obiang's thunderous strike beat Hugo Lloris all ends up.
Spurs stirred but required a moment of brilliance to break West Ham's resolve as Son's swerving 25-yard effort found the top corner. The hosts then pushed for a winner, but the Hammers held on for a valiant point at the home of their fierce rivals.
Mauricio Pochettino: "We gave everything to win. We dominated the game. Yes, sometimes things like this happen in football; you push, force and have chances to score, but it's impossible to score. I'm happy with the effort and performance having had 48 hours to prepare."
David Moyes: "The biggest thing for us was how long we didn't allow Spurs to score. I didn't want to come here and get beaten by four or five. I would love to have the players Spurs have. At the moment we don't. My job as the coach is to find a way to get results, which we did."
There seemed nothing on when Obiang collected the ball on the left flank some 30 yards from the Tottenham goal, but the Spaniard stunned Lloris with a rising rocket of strike which flew into the top corner. West Ham's first shot of the match was worth the wait, and so nearly claimed a victory their dogged defensively display deserved.
Spurs host AFC Wimbledon and West Ham travel to Shrewsbury in the third round of the FA Cup on Sunday, before both sides return to Premier League action against Everton and Huddersfield respectively.
