West Ham United moved into the semi-finals of the League Cup courtesy of a 2-1 victory over Tottenham Hotspur at White Hart Lane this evening.
Spurs took the lead in the 67th minute when Emmanuel Adebayor expertly volleyed Jermain Defoe's cross into the top corner at the end of a slick counter-attack from the hosts.
That goal sparked the Hammers into life and they clinched the win with two goals in the final 10 minutes, Matt Jarvis getting the equaliser before Modibo Maiga headed his side in front in the 85th minute.
Here, Sports Mole takes an in-depth look at an action-packed London derby.
Match statistics:
Tottenham:
Shots 21
On target 4
Possession 68%
Corners 10
Fouls 10
West Ham:
Shots 12
On target 8
Possession 32%
Corners 1
Fouls 12
Was the result fair?
The match stats speak volumes in this one. Tottenham had more shots, more possession and more corners than West Ham, but were unable to come away with the victory. The hosts dominated the opening 15 minutes and could have been 3-0 up at the midway point of the first half if it wasn't for their wastefulness in front of goal. West Ham, on the other hand, did not remotely threaten until they went behind, but for the final 15 minutes they were by far the better team. Perhaps the most striking statistic from the game is Tottenham's four shots on target from 21 efforts compared to West Ham's eight from 12. The hosts were simply not clinical enough in front of goal while, for once, West Ham were. On the overall balance of play, Tottenham probably deserved to win this one, but they can only have themselves to blame for not doing so.
Tottenham's performance
It all started so well. Tim Sherwood's side came flying out of the blocks and it looked for a while like the players had been given a new lease of life. However, they failed to take advantage of their rampant opening and allowed West Ham back into the match, turning what started as an optimistic half into one of frustration for the hosts. When they did eventually take the lead, through a fine Adebayor volley, they failed to build on that and West Ham soon began to threaten. The defence could not deal with the strength and aerial prowess of first Carlton Cole and then Modibo Maiga, and in the end they lost the match with a bit of a whimper.
West Ham's performance
For 70 minutes, West Ham were poor. They didn't create anything in opening play, relying solely on long balls upfield to the solitary frontman, who won every header but had no-one to flick the ball on to. However, as soon as they went behind they kicked into life, and suddenly they looked threatening on every attack. Their two goals, while being undeserved in the grand scheme of the match, were certainly not against the run of play and they could have had more late on. Maiga came particularly close in stoppage time when, rather than taking the ball into the corner, he smashed an effort off the crossbar from 25 yards.
Sports Mole's man of the match
Modibo Maiga: He may have only been on the pitch for 25 minutes, but Maiga made a massive impact on the match. The big striker dominated the Tottenham defence and played a big part in their equaliser before going on to score the winner - his first goal for more than a year. He won every aerial battle and, while Carlton Cole had done a similar job before him, this time Maiga found teammates with his flicks, creating chances. His effort that cannoned back off the crossbar would have been the perfect way to cap a superb cameo performance, but in the end he had to make do with just the one goal.
Biggest gaffe
With the score at 1-0 to Spurs and West Ham beginning to build a bit of momentum, the hosts did themselves no favours by helping to rouse the away fans. Two defenders got in the way of each other to tee up Matt Taylor, who fired a powerful strike that Hugo Lloris was at full stretch to save. That allowed West Ham's belief to grow a little more, and they went on to score the equaliser just four minutes later. It was schoolboy defending from Spurs as they carelessly gave the ball away in a dangerous area.
Referee performance
Not all London derbies go so smoothly, but Neil Swarbrick didn't have a lot to do this evening. There were no major decisions to be made and he only had to produce the yellow card on two occasions.
What next?
Tottenham: Spurs will look to get their season back on track when they face Southampton away on Sunday.
West Ham: West Ham, meanwhile, face a daunting trip to Old Trafford to face Manchester United as they look to move further away from the relegation zone.
Barney Corkhill
