Having played just 48 hours before, West Ham knew that they would be in for a tough, long night at Wembley when they took on Tottenham yesterday evening but David Moyes’ side put in a valiant display.
For the majority of the game, it was a defensive effort. The Hammers would line up with two solid banks of four or five, holding their shape and frustrating Spurs, leaving them to try their luck from distance as space to work the ball init the box was at a premium.
It took until deep into the second half for there to be a breakthrough in this one, and much to the surprise of the 50,000 fans in attendance it was West Ham who took the lead when Pedro Obiang, with the Hammers’ first shot of the game, rifled in a 30-yard effort into the top corner.
From there on, it was again a backs to the wall effort but Spurs levelled things up when Heung-Min Son was given the time and space to try his luck from distance and was able to beat Adrian with his own spectacular strike.
Moyes’ side held on for a point which further distanced themselves from the relegation zone heading into the FA Cup this weekend. Here are our player ratings from last night’s draw.
Adrian: 6
Was relatively untested throughout the game. A couple of worrisome moments but was helpless to deny Son’s effort.
Pablo Zabaleta: 7
Stood up to Ben Davies and Heung-Min Son relatively well throughout the game.
Winston Reid: 7
For the most part he limited Kane to very few opportunities.
Angelo Ogbonna: 8
Used his impressive athleticism to full effect on the night to pull around and mop up any danger.
Declan Rice: 8
Showed a level of composure well beyond his years. Illustrated why we’re so excited about him.
Arthur Masuaku: 6
Struggled to get into the game in an attacking sense and had a few lucky escapes in defence.
Mark Noble: 7
Organised the midfield excellently all evening and led by example with his aggressive tackling and pressurising.
Pedro Obiang: 7
Broke up play well and always found himself in the right position to make a defensive contribution. Not enough can be said about that ripsnorter of a goal.
Cheikhou Kouyate: 6
Wasn’t really a big factor, but tracked back in support of Zabaleta well all night. Any excuse to re-post this picture.
Manuel Lanzini: 6
Not a game for Lanzini to play his natural game but gave it all for the team.
Chicharito: 5
He couldn’t have been less suited to this type of game. Cannot hold the ball up, needs to play with a partner.
Andre Ayew: 6
More athletic than Chicharito, Ayew made more dynamic runs and held the ball up better which allowed the Hammers brief relief from the Tottenham pressure.
Andy Carroll: 6
Was brought on late in the game to protect against the direct approach Tottenham took to steal a winner.