Tottenham 1-2 West Ham: Both teams went into this London derby looking for a good result, but things got even worse for Thomas Frank after conceding a goal in stoppage time.
Tottenham manager Thomas Frank after losing to West Ham in the final stages (Image: )
Just when it looked like things couldn’t get any worse for Thomas Frank’s Tottenham, they sank to new dire lows.
Callum Wilson’s nail-biting goal in stoppage time not only sparks West Ham’s survival, but could very well be the goal that costs Frank his job. A pre-match anti-ENIC protest outside Tottenham Hotspur Stadium barely got going due to a lack of people.
By the end of this gripping London derby, an enraged home crowd was demanding Frank’s head, and it’s hard to see how the Dane, who was at his lowest after facing chants of “you’ll be fired in the morning” from his own countrymen, survived this heartbreaking defeat.
If the situation doesn’t change soon, it won’t be long before the Europa League champions look nervous.
The strange thing is that over the past year, fans’ two biggest wishes have come true: a trophy and Daniel Levy’s departure, yet somehow the club still feels bad about it.
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It was also a moment of redemption for former Spurs manager Nuno Espirito Santo. Not only is his team without a win in 10 Premier League games, they have lost all six of their top-flight games against other teams in the capital this season.
They deservedly took the lead through Crisencio Somerville’s opener, Cristian Romero pushed back and substitute Wilson grabbed all three points with just minutes left.
It was a sign of things to come when Tottenham’s unfortunate new signing Conor Gallagher collapsed with a head injury within the first 15 seconds.
He struggled, but the moment the dazed midfielder came to his senses, he was brutally exposed for West Ham’s opener.
Somerville danced inside Pedro Porro and then Gallagher, but his shot was parried by the unlucky Micky van de Ven and the wrong-footed Guglielmo Vicario.
Last season’s Europa League winners are in danger of falling to the bottom three (Image: )
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There was an embarrassing lack of control for Spurs for long periods in the first half as they were bullied on their own patch by their relegation-threatened rivals, having lost Ben Davies to a serious injury. It was incredible how threatening West Ham looked during the crisis.
Alphonse Arreola made a fine double save to deny Wilson Odbert and Jed Spence and the hosts almost equalized, but the throaty Irons could have easily doubled their advantage before the interval.
Konstantinos Mavropanos forced a fine diving save from Vicario, but Tati Castellanos deflected his shot from close range at the far post.
Tottenham came alive after the break and, notably, Frank’s decision to sub Matthijs Tell (the Frenchman shook his head violently) angered and excited the home crowd.
Spurs equalized through Romero’s goal just minutes after Van de Ven thwarted Somerville with a superb last-minute challenge. They were in desperate need of inspiration, so the Argentine stepped up to bat, stood tall and mentally filled Polo’s teasing words.
For a moment, it looked like Tottenham would be given a reprieve when Oliver Scalls appeared to flick a bouncing ball with his finger on the byline.
Despite a VAR review, common sense prevailed and no penalty was awarded, with West Ham hero Wilson scoring the winner after Vicario missed a corner.
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