Tottenham vs West Ham: Ange Postecoglou’s new tenure at Tottenham Hotspur has started with a defeat over West Ham at Optus Stadium.
Tottenham vs West Ham
The Hammers won 3-2 in an exciting preseason match in Perth after Spurs rallied from two goals down to succumb to a late Gianluca Scamacca goal.
For the majority of the game, West Ham was under assault as Postecoglou’s attacking approach showed early promise. However, despite having multiple chances, they were unable to score until a three-minute spurt early in the second half gave them optimism for a successful debut for the Australian manager.
Danny Ings and Divin Mubama’s two goals in the first half, which came from set pieces and ultimately proved decisive, prevented it from happening.
The reign of Ange Postecoglou at the Spurs begins with a loss
In their debut game under the Australian manager, Spurs dominated nearly all of the available statistics, so there was a lot to appreciate about them.
They created 31 shots compared to West Ham’s five, and they had nearly 70% of the possession, so they could create chance after chance.
The bombardment David Moyes’ team had to deal with at points in the second half gave the impression that the game was being played entirely in the Hammers’ half.
Tottenham could have been excused for thinking it was just not their night with every missed opportunity or Lukasz Fabianski save.
However, they persisted till they finally broke through the scoreboard thanks to Giovani Lo Celso and Destiny Udogie a short while later.
Postecoglou’s team managed to get back on equal footing, but unfortunately, he was unable to win to cap off his first game in charge.
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Though most Spurs supporters would have been content with his team’s patient attack buildup and fluid front-line movement going into the 2017 Premier League season.
Hammers at Optus Stadium remain unbeaten
After West Ham added Spurs to their earlier victory over Perth Glory during their tour of Australia, it was two games and two victories for the Hammers.
The Hammers defeated the locals 6-2 last Saturday while utilizing the open Optus Stadium field to their advantage.
They did not have as much luck against Tottenham as they were only allowed to possess 28% of the ball and were forced to play a lot of last-ditch defending while depending on their strength at set pieces.
West Ham was able to stay in the battle despite being wobbled even though Moyes is used to this kind of backs-to-the-walls effort, and they even managed to land the knockout blow through a brilliant counterattack.
Harry Kane did not speak – Tottenham vs West Ham
The 40 or so thousand spectators in Perth who defied the rain to catch sight of Tottenham and West Ham on a Tuesday night undoubtedly reacted most strongly to Harry Kane.
Numerous Spurs players, including the English international, were affected by the team’s first hit of the year.
Kane’s role was confined to the occasional neat touch to impede play in the center of the park, and throughout the first 45 minutes of his appearance, Kurt Zouma and Angelo Ogbonna did a good job of controlling him.
Since arriving in Australia, Postecoglou has been deluged with inquiries about the striker’s future, and as preseason ramps up, the speculation surrounding Kane is unlikely to abate anytime soon.