Hammers saved by Soucek in stalemate against rivals Spurs
The London Stadium was anchored to a frantic first few minutes, as both goalkeepers were forced to make quickfire saves from long-range efforts, before referee Peter Bankes uncompromisingly pointed to the penalty spot for a seemingly controversial handball by Aaron Cresswell.
Following a VAR review, it turned out the ball struck his head first before unknowingly falling onto his outstretched arm – forcing Bankes to overturn his decision.
A shift in momentum then saw the Hammers take control of proceedings as Michail Antonio came excruciatingly close to drawing first blood midway through the half with an unstoppable drive past Hugo Lloris, only to see it crash against the post.
Spurs managed to take the sting out of the home side, finally seeing their perseverance pay off in the 34th minute. Harry Kane warranted new defensive signing Thilo Kehrer into an unfortunate own goal following a mishap to make it 1-0.
The Hammers reemerged for the second half a revitalised outfit, going on to equalise following some superb team play between Antonio and Tomas Soucek in the final-third.
The Czech midfielder perfectly latched onto a sensational flick by the Jamaican and volleyed home the equaliser.
Spurs let their guard down once again minutes later, as Hugo Lloris gave away the ball cheaply, before Jarrod Bowen failed to take advantage from his shot from inside the box that went just wide of the left post.
An end-to-end encounter materialised as the final-quarter hour dawned, with chances falling in succession to Heung-Min Son and Pablo Fornals to put their respective sides into the driving seat, but they suffered with a lack of clinical finishing.
Despite coming into the clash a bit more fresher than their counterparts, Spurs could not register a 100th Premier League London derby win.
Nonetheless, they remain unbeaten in 11 consecutive league fixtures. West Ham on the other hand, will take inspiration from their spirited second half display, with a clash against Chelsea up next.
Flashscore Man of the Match: Tomas Soucek (West Ham United)
Check out all the statistics from this London derby with Flashsore.