Tottenham 2-0 West Ham: Son back on song as Spurs move into Champions League places
Kyle Goldsmith
February 19, 2023 18:29 MYT
February 19, 2023 18:29 MYT
Son Heung-min returned to scoring form to help Tottenham claim a 2-0 victory over West Ham, propelling them into the Premier League's top four.
With Antonio Conte back in Italy recovering from emergency gallbladder surgery earlier this month, stand-in head coach Cristian Stellini was again charged with leading Spurs at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.
Stellini made it two wins from two games in temporary charge as substitute Son sealed the points with his first league goal since January 4 after Emerson nosed Spurs ahead in the 56th minute.
West Ham's defeat leaves them in the bottom three while Spurs, who lost heavily to Leicester City last week then went down to Milan in the Champions League, leapfrogged Newcastle United into fourth place.
There were warning signs for Spurs when Jarrod Bowen blasted wide in the opening minute, though a refereeing decision was the main talking point from a sluggish first half.
Eight days on from Tomas Soucek getting away with a similar incident against Chelsea, team-mate Thilo Kehrer was perhaps fortunate not to concede a penalty when Richarlison's pass struck his outstretched arm.
2 - Having scored just once in his first 45 Premier League appearances for Tottenham, Emerson Royal has since netted two goals in his last five games (v Man City & West Ham). Rumble. pic.twitter.com/vTvpV82o80 — OptaJoe (@OptaJoe) February 19, 2023
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Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg and Richarlison were denied by Lukasz Fabianski before Cristian Romero headed over, with Spurs keeping up the pressure after the restart when Harry Kane went close.
That pressure told before the hour – Emerson coolly slotting into the bottom left corner after combining with fellow wing-back Ben Davies.
Bowen almost found an immediate response for West Ham but Fraser Forster was equal to his snapshot.
And West Ham's hopes of a comeback were all but dashed when Son, who had lost his place in the starting XI to Richarlison, finished calmly after linking up with Kane.