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David Moyes parks the bus at Spurs |
If he paid any attention to the scoffing that greeted his appointment as Slaven Bilic’s replacement two months ago, http://www.packershopnfl.com/WOMENS_YOUTH_JAHRI_EVANS_JERSEY.html David Moyes would be entitled to hold up this game of attack-versus-defence and wonder goals at either end as evidence that reports of his demise were premature. Son Heung-min blasted Tottenham Hotspur level just when it seemed that West Ham were going to pull off one of the great Wembley heists, but Moyes could still reflect on another minor tactical triumph.
There will be a temptation to belittle West Ham’s approach, even though they were confronted by a brilliant Spurs side who have already torn to shreds Borussia Dortmund, Liverpool and Real Madrid this season. They swallowed the key after parking the bus and there were times when a repeat of West Ham’s Carabao Cup victory here in October, when they produced a sensational comeback from two goals down, looked about as likely as Moyes running on to join his team’s desperate defensive effort
However they were hardly the first lowly team to go into lockdown mode against a so-called big-six opponent – negativity from the inhabitants of the bottom half has been a prominent feature in the most exciting league in the world all season – and a dismissal of West Ham’s willingness to cede possession would underestimate how broken they were when Bilic was finally sacked. The Croat’s final game in charge was a humiliating 4-1 home defeat by Liverpool at the start of November. Since his arrival, Moyes has beaten Chelsea, drawn with Arsenal and Spurs, and almost held Manchester City.
West Ham remain in grave danger of going down despite ending the festive period on a positive note, with this battling 1-1 draw and Tuesday’s dramatic 2-1 victory over West Bromwich Albion lifting them two points above the bottom three. Their uncertain future, which stems from their long litany of mistakes in the transfer market, has forced them into an embrace of pragmatism.
Moyes has often sighed about his squad’s lack of depth and balance, weaknesses that threatened Damien Wilson Authentic Jersey to undermine them against Mauricio Pochettino’s side. Without the injured Marko Arnautovic, Michail Antonio and Aaron Cresswell, West Ham arrived Ted Hendricks Jersey with a scratch side, naming four academy players on the bench and using a raw but game 18-year-old defender, Declan Rice, as part of a five-man defence whose onerous task was to keep Harry Kane quiet.
Kane had his first sight of goal after four minutes, forcing the impressive Rice to hook clear in the six-yard box, and it would not be his last. One of Kane’s most impressive qualities is how regularly he looks to unload shots and he had four in the first half an hour, testing Adrián with the best of them, a curling effort from 25 yards.
With Cheikhou Kouyaté, Mark Noble and Pedro Obiang performing screening roles and in midfield, West Ham’s Emmanuel Sanders Womens Jersey ambition was limited. Midway through the first half the isolated and ineffective Javier Hernández produced an inviting cutback from the right, only to realise that none of his team-mates had managed to burst into the Spurs area. Then http://www.nashvillepredatorsofficialonline.com/Adidas-Craig-Smith-Jersey Manuel Lanzini got a bit excited and ran into a threatening position before losing possession; Tottenham broke, but West Ham still had five defenders back and the attack fizzled out.
There were, http://www.officialcavaliershop.com/authentic-5-jr-smith-jersey.html of course, plenty of moments to make the visitors wince. Kane miscontrolled in front of goal, while Christian Eriksen and Son tested Adrián’s reflexes.
This was one of Winston Reid’s better performances, though, and the home team’s frustration grew despite their dominance. The crowd’s howls when Moussa Sissoko sent a pass out for a throw were telling. Spurs were vulnerable to a sucker-punch and Obiang duly landed it when he let fly from 25 yards. Hugo Lloris was stunned, just like everyone else inside the stadium. West Ham had taken until the 70th minute to have a shot and now they were in front.
But back came Spurs, with Son conjuring an equaliser to rival Obiang’s spectacular goal, and the points were shared. It seemed slightly preposterous. West Ham had contributed so little as an attacking force. As he barked orders from his technical area, though, Moyes was not alone in appreciating the value of good organisation. basketball jerseys wholesale jerseys nfl jerseys from china cheap jerseys elite nhl jerseys wholesale
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