WHZ View: Looking back at the day West Ham demolished Tottenham at White Hart Lane
West Ham play host to London rivals Tottenham Hotspur on Sunday at the London Stadium.
The Hammers can open up a nine-point gap over Jose Mourinho’s men with a win, as they continue to push on in search of a European placed finish.
It’s a huge game for both sides. Spurs have lost four of their last five league matches, and are desperate for a win as they try to push for the top six.
There have been many classic matches contested between the two teams in the top flight over the years. West Ham Zone have decided to look back on our famous 3-0 victory at White Hart Lane in 2013, which included a wondergoal from Ravel Morrison (remember him?).
Against the odds
Managed by Sam Allardyce, West Ham arrived in north London winless in their last five league games. Defeats at home to Stoke and Everton, in between goalless draws with at Newcastle and Southampton meant the pressure was mounting on Big Sam. It didn’t help his side losing 1-0 away to Hull in the game prior to this.
The Hammers were 17th in the league with just five points from their opening six games. It was shaping up to be a long season.
Spurs, on the other hand, were flying high in third place. Managed by Andre Villas-Boas, they’d won four of their first six games, and were coming off a 1-1 draw with Chelsea. Life after Gareth Bale wasn’t looking all that bleak.
Enter West Ham. This was one of the great Big Sam masterclasses. We sat back and soaked up the pressure as Spurs took control of the game, ending with 61% possession.
After a scrappy first half, we took the lead on 66 minutes. Winston Reid rose to meet a Stewart Downing corner with his head. The attempt was blocked on the line by the skipper, Kevin Nolan, but rebounded back to Reid as he tapped in.
The first bit of luck we’d had in the 2013/14 campaign. It was our first away goal of the season, and it came in October.
Our good fortune didn’t stop there. In the 72nd minute, Mark Noble picked up possession in the centre of the pitch. He turned and slipped through Ricardo Vaz Te, who saw his attempt saved by Hugo Lloris.
His save ricocheted back off of Vaz Te and rolled into the open Spurs net. A goal you couldn’t help but laugh at. In seven minutes, Lloris had doubled the number of goals he’d conceded all season.
There was, however, nothing fortunate about the third goal. Ravel Morrison was fed the ball in his own half by Mohamed Diame. He ran into the Spurs half, getting away from Jan Vertonghan, and skipped past Michael Dawson as if he wasn’t there. He delicately chipped the ball over an onrushing Lloris who was left in no man’s land.
Just like that, we’d gone up four spaces in the table and had a right laugh at Tottenham’s expense. “It’s fantastic when a plan comes together”, Big Sam told the BBC at fulltime. Ain’t that the truth.
More of the same on Sunday, please.
In other West Ham news, here’s a look at our next five matches.