Tomas Soucek torn to shreds over ‘horrible’ incident in West Ham loss vs Tottenham
Tomas Soucek was sent off as West Ham lost 3-0 to Tottenham on Saturday.
There were high hopes for Graham Potter’s side in the London derby, coming off the back of a 3-0 West Ham win against Nottingham Forest last time out.
It is fair to say that any hopes of a positive result were crushed when Pape Matar Sarr opened the scoring just two minutes into the second half at the London Stadium.
This saw the Lilywhites take over in E20, even with West Ham’s ban on half-and-half scarves, with a positive reaction needed from the claret and blue outfit.
Soucek took the desire to get back into the clash too far and ultimately faced a red card with a challenge that certainly hasn’t gone down well in East London.
Paul Robinson slams Tomas Soucek vs Tottenham
There is no getting away from the fact that Thomas Frank’s side had the better of the play until their Senegal international scored the opener.
This even saw Cristian Romero open the scoring before Jarred Gillett ruled it out for a controversial foul on Kyle Walker-Peters in the penalty area.
It seems that the home side weren’t woken up by this stroke of luck and ultimately continued to frustrate throughout the second half, particularly.
This was thanks largely to Soucek, whose challenge on Joao Palhinha was always destined for a red card on the stretch.
The Czechia international clattered into the Spurs midfielder, cutting his sock in the process, something that sparked a telling reaction from Paul Robinson via BBC Radio 5 Live on 13 September.
He said: “That looks horrible. No complaints. Oh dear, it’s a bad challenge, a really bad challenge. The ball’s just got away from him, and he’s reached out.
“Palhinha gets there, his foot’s off the floor, it’s raised, and Soucek’s right foot makes contact with Palhinha just under his right knee and takes half his sock and half his shin pad. That’s a painful one.
“Immediately, Soucek didn’t complain, he bowed his head. He knew what was going to happen. There was no intent, he was just reaching out. That’s a really poor challenge.”
Tomas Soucek red card is no excuse for West Ham
The Irons might have been one goal down and a man down, but there was no excuse for the disgrace that was the performance.
At times, Spurs were able to pass the ball around with no pressure while the home players stood and watched like they weren’t already 3-0 down.
The score was unlikely to be changed, but some effort, especially from those coming off the bench, wouldn’t have gone amiss.
It is yet another terrible home result and performance, something which Potter has to answer questions on, regardless of a silly red card.
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