FT: West Ham 2-3 Tottenham: Spurs hold off Hammers’ furious comeback

Harry Kane’s first half brace propelled Tottenham to a 3-2 win over London rivals West Ham United, as the visitors received some level of revenge from last season’s title ending loss to the Hammers, but barely held onto their three goal league.

Michail Antonio’s first half injury in the 28th minute was the turning point in the contest, as West Ham were the better side up to that point.

Antonio’s departure contributed to Spurs taking a 2-0 lead, as Kane added to his goal tally twice in a four minute span. The first came from a mistake off an Andy Carroll pass, which eventually lead to Dele Alli finding the talisman striker in the 34th minute. The England star would then finish a rebound off a Joe Hart denial of Christian Eriksen in the 38th minute. And when Eriksen finished perfectly pass Hart in the 60th minute, it seemed the game was over then.

But the Hammers showed great spirit, as Javier Hernandez made it 3-1 with a point blink header in the 65th minute. Then a grandstand finish was on the cards when Cheikhou Kouyate headed home from a wonderful delivery from sub Arthur Masuaku in the 87th minute.

The comeback wasn’t to be however, with Spurs getting the revenge they so desperately craved all week, though barely.

West Ham will hope they can return to winning ways next Saturday, when they welcome Paul Clement’s Swansea City side to the Olympic Stadium.