Alan Smith wowed by West Ham man in first half v Tottenham Hotspur
Alan Smith was wowed by “brilliant” Said Benrahma as the West Ham ace sliced Tottenham Hotspur’s lead in half in the first half at the London Stadium.
An own goal from Kurt Zouma and a goal from Son Heung-min before Benrahma pegged them back from a corner saw Spurs go into the break with a 2-1 lead.
Smith hailed the winger for the finish despite the difficult nature of the goal.
“That is not an easy chance at all,” he said live on Sky Sports.
Smith added: “You need a very high technical level to sort your feet out and control this shot.
“A brilliant take.”
Very poor
West Ham just weren’t in the races in the first half today. They could have found themselves completely out of the game if Son bagged what was a very easy chance just after ten minutes being played.
In all honesty, it was expected after the historic Europa League win against Sevilla. The Hammers gave their all for 120 minutes, so the sluggish start is understandable, not to mention the psychological difficulty of getting themselves geared up for the game after such a big win.
That is cutting the Irons players a lot of slack with the game against Spurs being a bitter crunch match, but they are allowed a let of considering how well they have done this season.
Moyes has to try and find a way for his team to get back into the game in the second half. West Ham lose here Tottenham would leapfrog them to fifth in the league, leaving them in seventh.
Hopefully they can use the confidence form that late Benrahma goal to mount a second half attack on Spurs.
In other West Ham news, the Irons’ chances of winning the Europa League shared by a supercomputer.
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