EPL

Tottenham 3 West Ham 2: Kane snatches dramatic derby win

Harry Kane’s late brace earned a 3-2 win for Tottenham at home to 10-man West Ham on Saturday, extending the only unbeaten record in the Premier League.

West Ham led the bitter London derby 2-1 after 89 minutes but somehow Spurs roared back to claim victory, with Kane equalising and then putting away a precise injury-time spot-kick in the space of two dramatic minutes to end his team’s run of seven games without a win, as Winston Reid saw red late on to compound the Hammers’ unexpected misery.

The visitors looked set to claim a derby win thanks to Manuel Lanzini’s penalty, Harry Winks having earlier cancelled out Michail Antonio’s headed opener by scoring on his Premier League debut.

They did not reckon with the intervention of Kane, who demonstrated his poachers’ instinct to equalise on the rebound when substitute Son Heung-min had a shot saved by Darren Randolph.

Referee Mike Dean then pointed to the spot again when Son went down in the box under a challenge from Havard Nordtveit and Kane smashed home from 12 yards to break West Ham hearts and move Spurs within three points of top spot in the Premier League.

West Ham had been on track to record their third win in five league games, but instead they now sit a solitary point above the relegation zone.

Spurs had the ball in the net in the sixth minute, but the goal was correctly ruled out for offside after Christian Eriksen strayed behind the defensive line before smashing in a fine finish.

Kane and Antonio then fired off target from the edge of the area in a frantic opening 15 minutes before the game settled down.

Antonio’s header was the only goal of this fixture in March and his 11th headed strike of 2016 put West Ham into the lead after 24 minutes.

Dimitri Payet’s deep corner picked out Cheikhou Kouyate, whose header crashed against the crossbar, and when Reid put the ball back into the six-yard box, Antonio was on hand to nod in.

Mauricio Pochettino paired Kane and Vincent Janssen in attack only for Spurs to fail to muster a shot on target in the first half for their second Premier League game in succession, but the hosts were much-improved after the interval and equalised just five minutes after the restart.

Janssen was heavily involved and, although he seemed to control a Danny Rose cross with his arm, Randolph was only able to deflect the Dutchman’s powerful shot to the feet of Winks for a dream goal.

Randolph made a fine save with his left boot from Eric Dier’s firm downward header after 57 minutes as Spurs cranked up the pressure.

West Ham regained the lead after 68 minutes, Lanzini converting from 12 yards after Dean penalised Janssen for holding Reid.

Slaven Bilic must have thought his team were set to record a valuable win away to their fierce foes, but Kane was on hand to pounce and equalise on the rebound after Randolph saved Son’s initial shot with a minute to go in normal time.

Nordtveit then tripped Son inside the area to give away a penalty, tucked away with aplomb by the ice-cool Kane to spark wild celebrations among the home fans at White Hart Lane.

 

Key Opta stats:

– Since the start of last season, Spurs have picked up 20 points in London derby games in league competition; the most of any side.
– Harry Kane has netted in each of his last four Premier League games; equalling his joint-best scoring streak in the competition.
– Of players to have played in 10 or more London PL derbies, Harry Kane has the best goals/game ratio (0.82, 18 goals in 22 games).
– There were just 160 seconds between Harry Kane’s two goals for Spurs against West Ham.
– Michail Antonio has scored 11 headed goals in the Premier League in 2016, more than twice as many as any other player in the competition (Aguero and Benteke next, on five).
– Antonio has equalled the Premier League record for headed goals in a calendar year (11, joint with Tim Cahill in 2010).
– West Ham have received more red cards than any other Premier League team since the start of last season (7).
– Harry Winks is the first player to score on his first Premier League start for Spurs since Eric Dier in August 2014 (also v West Ham).
– Mike Dean has awarded nine penalties in the Premier League this season, more than any other referee.

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