Tottenham vs. West Ham result: Son shines as Spurs win 3-1, gain ground in top four race

Graham Ruthven

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Tottenham vs. West Ham result: Son shines as Spurs win 3-1, gain ground in top four race image

Son Heung-min bagged a brace for Tottenham Hotspur as they claimed a 3-1 win over rivals West Ham United to boost their chances of finishing in the top four.

It took Spurs just eight minutes to open the scoring when Kurt Zouma deflected a Son shot into the back of the his own net under pressure at the near post.

Tottenham doubled their advantage soon after with Harry Kane producing yet another assist for Son with the South Korean international giving the home team a 2-0 lead after 24 minutes.

West Ham gave themselves a lifeline against the run of play when Said Benrahma volleyed home at the back post after a corner kick had been flicked on by Craig Dawson.

MORE: Will Tottenham finish top four? Spurs schedule, what they need to qualify for Champions League

David Moyes' team were sharper in the second period, but ran out of steam having made such an effort in the Europa League against Sevilla on Thursday.

Spurs made sure of the points late on with Son scoring his second and his team's third after a header by Kane released him clean through on goal.

Tottenham vs. West Ham final score

  1H 2H Final
Tottenham 2 3 3
West Ham 1 1 1

Goals:
8th min - TOT - Kurt Zouma (OG)
24th min - TOT - Heung-Min Son
36th min - WHU - Said Benrahma
89th min - TOT - Heung-Min Son

(All times Eastern)

2:56 p.m.: After the match, Antonio Conte explained that there's a clear top four in the Premier League...but it's not exactly the four you may have thought.

FULL-TIME: Tottenham 3-1 West Ham

Spurs get the win they needed to stay in contention for a top four finish. They were the better team over the 90 minutes. West Ham just couldn't live with Kane and Son. They made the difference!

90+2 mins: Bergwijn and Moura ON, Kulusevski and Son OFF - What a performance by Son!

90 mins: There will be five minutes of stoppage time played at the end of the second half.

89 mins: GOAL! Tottenham! - Game, set and match! Kane flicks a long ball on for Son and the Tottenham forward shows great composure to fire home hard and low past Fabianski and into the back of the net! Game over.

88 mins: Emerson ON, Reguilon OFF - Conte makes his first change of the match. Doherty switches over to the left side.

86 mins: Lloris gathers! West Ham get a couple of crosses into the box, but Lloris claims the second one and that relieves some of the pressure on the Tottenham defence. The Hammers are going for it!

84 mins: Vlasic ON, Lanzini OFF - Moyes makes his third change of the match!

80 mins: Kane should score! Hjobjerg picks out Kane inside the area, he brings the ball down, but puts the lobbed finish over the bar. That was a golden opportunity for Spurs to secure all three points. Kane was onside!

79 mins: Tottenham are trying to regain control of the match with a spell of comfortable possession. There's a nervousness around the stadium. The fans know how important this win would be for the home team.

76 mins: Romero has been very impressive so far here!

74 mins: The referee gets in the way of Son as the Spurs attacker attempted to control a ball on the edge of the box. the home fans didn't like that!

72 mins: The next goal in this match will be huge. West Ham are pressing and are creating some good opportunities, but a third goal for Spurs would kill the contest.

69 mins: Shot over the bar! The ball was played out to Kulusevski on the right side, he cuts inside on to his left foot, but sends his shot over the target. That was a decent position for the Swedish international!

66 mins: West Ham are probing away for an equalizer and have been much sharper in the opposition half in the second half, but this is leaving space in behind for Tottenham to exploit in quick transition.

63 mins: Penalty claim! Reguilon goes down inside the box and is adamant that he should have been awarded a penalty kick! West Ham have improved since they made the double change.

60 mins: Yarmolenko has been in good goalscoring form recently. Can he continue that with an important goal for West Ham in the final 30 minutes of this match?

57 mins: Yarmolenko and Fornals ON, Antonio and Masuaku OFF - Moyes makes the double change! This feels like a potential turning point in the match...but for whom?

56 mins: Over the bar! That was a decent chance for Antonio! Cresswell found the West Ham forward with a low cross to the back post, but he volleys well over the bar when he should have hit the target!

54 mins: There's a break in play as two pitch invaders are led away. There's some tension between the two groups of players as well. Some scuffles have broken out. Not sure what that's about.

51 mins: Kane denied! Tottenham come forward on the counter attack, Kane is played into the box, he was in behind, but Fabianski does just enough to deny the forward from scoring!

48 mins: Can West Ham build on their encouraging end to the first half? They struggled for much of the opening 45 minutes, but were emboldened by the goal by Benrahma.

46 mins: The second half is under way! Tottenham have already had an attack through Son, but he's offside. Doherty has found some good form recently after a difficult start to the season...

45+2 mins: HALF TIME! Tottenham 2 West Ham 1 - A very entertaining half of football comes to a close at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium and the hosts have the lead! However, West Ham have gained a foothold in the match.

45 mins: There will be two minutes of stoppage time played at the end of the first half.

43 mins: This is actually a decent end to the half by West Ham. They have been second best for the majority of the game so far, but Tottenham are sitting deep and attempting to see this out until the interval.

41 mins: This was the goal that got West Ham back into the game...

38 mins: That West Ham goal came against the run of play. Can they use it to build? The away team need to do more to stop Tottenham dictating play in the centre of the pitch. That high line is also an issue!

36 mins: GOAL! Tottenham 2 West Ham 1 (Benrahma 36') - Out of nothing, Benrahma has given West Ham a lifeline! A corner kick was flicked on and Benrahma was on hand at the back post to finish on the volley! Very nicely taken!

35 mins: What a partnership!

32 mins: This is complete control from Tottenham at the moment. They are controlling the ball while West Ham are carrying little attacking threat. Surely Moyes is thinking about some changes at half time?

30 mins: Fortune favours the brave?

27 mins: West Ham need to rethink their approach here. They have been second best since the first whistle and Tottenham have made the most of the opportunities they have created.

24 mins: GOAL! Tottenham 2 (Son 24') West Ham 0 - It's that combination again! Kane finds Son, he stands up the West Ham defender and then fires a strike past Fabianski. That one took another deflection off Zouma, but this is Son's goal!

23 mins: BOOKING! Dawson is shown the first yellow card of the match for fouling Son on the break.

21 mins: Tottenham are doing a good job of staying compact when they have to do some defending. Bentancur has started well. He's snapping into tackles and stopping West Ham from breaking through!

19 mins: A strong start by Tottenham!

18 mins: West Ham aren't sure what the right approach is when they are out of possession. Should they stand off or press high on Tottenham? Right now, they're doing neither!

16 mins: What a cross! Benrhama beats his man, gets to the byline and swings a brilliant cross into the middle, but Antonio just couldn't get the better of his man in the air!

13 mins: This has been a very strong start to the match by Tottenham. They are controlling possession, but are also doing a good job of offering a vertical threat through runs into the box. Kane and Son already causing problems.

10 mins: It now appears Zouma got the final touch on the opening goal...

8 mins: GOAL! Tottenham 1 (Zouma OG 8') West Ham 0 - The breakthrough has been made and Son finds the back of the net! Spurs win the ball high up the pitch, Kane bursts into the box and finds Son whose deflected strike ends up in the back of the net!

6 mins: West Ham are playing a very high line here, which is interesting because that might give Spurs a lot of space to break into. Kane and Son will be looking at this as an opportunity!

3 mins: As expected, West Ham are matching up to Tottenham's back three, but it's the home side that are on the front foot from the start. Kane is tackled on the edge of the box.

1 min: The match has started at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium! Spurs have the ball early on.

12:25am: West Ham come into this match on the back of a momentous win over Sevilla in the Europa League. "We didn't win anything on Thursday night," says Moyes, but will there be any sort of hangover for his team from that match?

12:15am: It's a very pleasant day for a football match in North London!

12:10am: Both Spurs and West Ham need points here to boost their fading chances of qualifying for next season's Champions League. The home team can move up to fifth with a win and the same goes for the Hammers.

11:35 am: Lineups are in. No surprises for Tottenham, with Davinson Sanchez on the bench as Conte sticks with the 3-4-3. For West Ham, two changes from last time out, most notably as Arthur Masuaku comes in for Pablo Fornals, meaning David Moyes could be utilizing a back-three as Cresswell tucks in centrally.

11:24 am: Plenty has been made about the Harry Kane away goals Premier League record, but he sure loves a home fixture against West Ham!

10:55 am: It might not be a game with direct Champions League qualification implications, but it could definitely be considered an elimination match! Neither side will be happy with a draw, which could make for an exciting 90 minutes.

10:30 am: Arsenal holds the advantage in the race for fourth place in the Premier League, but the winner of today's match will position themselves well to pounce should the Gunners slip. West Ham has the upper hand of late, performing well in their hometown.

Tottenham vs. West Ham lineups

Conte opted for consistency and stuck with an unchanged starting lineup. Midfielders Oliver Skipp (groin) and Ryan Sessegnon (hamstring) are both out of action until after the international break with Irish international Matt Doherty shaking off a minor knock in time to start. 

Tottenham starting lineup (3-4-3): Lloris (GK) — Davies, Dier, Romero — Reguilon, Hojbjerg, Bentancur, Doherty — Son, Kane, Kulusevski

Tottenham subs (12): Gollini (GK), Rodon, Sanchez, Royal, Winks, White, Bergwijn, Lucas, Scarlett.

Moyes mirrored Conte with limited changes despite a demanding run of games in recent weeks. Vladimir Coufal (hernia) and Jarrod Bowen (calf) were ruled out through injury, with an expected absence of at least a month for both players, but Polish netminder Lukasz Fabianksi was recalled in place of Alphonse Areola.

Interestingly, both Aaron Cresswell and Arthur Masuaku are in the starting lineup. Could it be a 3 CB system with Cresswell moving centrally? That's not something often utilized by David Moyes.

West Ham starting lineup (3-5-1): Fabianski (GK) — Cresswell, Dawson, Zouma — Masuaku, Rice, Soucek, Benrahma, Lanzini, Johnson — Antonio.

West Ham subs (12): Yarmolenko, Fornals, Vlasic, Areola, Noble, Diop, Fredericks, Kral, Perkins.

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Graham Ruthven