Tottenham deepen West Ham’s woes with 3-0 win as Tomas Soucek sees red
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Tottenham Hotspur's Micky van de Ven celebrates scoring their third goal with Lucas Bergvall, Xavi Simons and Cristian Romero.
PHOTO: REUTERS
- Tottenham defeated West Ham 3-0, with Sarr, Bergvall, and Van de Ven scoring; Spurs are now second in the Premier League.
- West Ham's Soucek received a red card for a dangerous foul, contributing to their defeat and placing them 18th.
- West Ham's coach Graham Potter acknowledged fan frustration, while Tottenham's Thomas Frank cited dominance and set-piece execution.
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LONDON - Tottenham Hotspur cruised to a comprehensive 3-0 win over West Ham United on Sept 13 to leave the home side languishing in the Premier League bottom three, with the Hammers suffering another blow as midfielder Tomas Soucek was sent off for a dangerous tackle.
Christian Romero had the ball in the net for Spurs with a header from a corner in the 19th minute, but the goal was immediately ruled out by referee Jarred Gillett for a push in the build-up, with the VAR confirming his decision as correct.
With Tottenham sensing weakness, the West Ham penalty area resembled a wrestling ring at every set piece and they could have easily have conceded a penalty for some over-zealous grappling as they struggled to keep track of the Spurs players.
When the visitors took the lead in the 47th minute, it predictably came from a set piece as Pape Matar Sarr was left unmarked at the back post, and he sent a powerful header from a Xavi Simons corner flying into the net.
Soucek was then shown a straight red card for a horrendously-timed studs-up challenge on Joao Palhinha that ripped the sock of the Spurs player, and any chance of a comeback evaporated with his dismissal.
West Ham United's Tomas Soucek fouls Tottenham Hotspur's Joao Palhinha and is shown a red card.
PHOTO: EPA
Spurs worked the resulting free kick across the field for Lucas Bergvall to score his first Premier League goal with a looping header from Romero’s cross, and the Swedish midfielder then teed up Micky Van de Ven for the third in the 64th minute.
Down to 10 men, West Ham were pinned back for much of the rest of the game, barely threatening the Spurs goal as they slumped to their third league defeat of the season.
The win moves Spurs up to second in the table on nine points and leaves West Ham in 18th with three points from their first four games.
Plenty of West Ham supporters voted with their feet, leaving the stadium long before the full-time whistle.
Tottenham Hotspur's Lucas Bergvall scores their second goal.
PHOTO: REUTERS
“I understand, because the scoreline is the scoreline and I understand why people are upset,” West Ham coach Graham Potter said.
“If you look over the game, it was relatively tight in terms of chances and shots, but one slight mistake and they execute the set-piece well, and then we’re down to 10 men and it all changes,” he added.
For Tottenham’s Thomas Frank, the analysis was much more straightforward.
“We scored a brilliant goal from a corner - the red card helps, of course, but I felt we were dominant in the game,” he said. REUTERS
