Spurs losing spark, suffer 4th defeat in 5 games

LONDON, December 8

Tottenham Hotspur’s chronic inability to convert leads into Premier League points returned with a vengeance in a 2-1 home defeat by West Ham United as their winless run extended to five matches yesterday. West Ham were outplayed in the opening half in which Cristian Romero marked his return from suspension to head Tottenham into an early lead but goals by Jarrod Bowen and James Ward-Prowse turned the derby on its head in the second half.

1 Tottenham are now the first team in Premier League history to lead 1-0 in five successive games without winning any of them and have taken only one point from the last 15 on offer

Bowen equalised after 52 minutes when a rebound fell into his path before Ward-Prowse netted a bizarre winner in the 74th minute following a mistake by Destiny Udogie. West Ham, now unbeaten in six games in all competitions, soaked up some late Tottenham pressure and held on for a victory that moved them within three points of their London rivals.

While Tottenham remain in fifth place with 27 points they have not won since October and the optimism of their best start after 10 games since 1960 is fading fast. “We dominated another game and didn’t turn that into something more tangible and we kept the opposition in the game,” manager Ange Postecoglou said. — Reuters