West Ham United picked up their first home point of the Premier League season on Wednesday night after holding rivals Tottenham Hotspur to a 1-1 draw at the London Stadium.
David Moyes’ side thought they had given away a penalty in the first half when Harry Kane’s header crashed into the hand of Aaron Cresswell, only for the spot-kick to be reversed following the intervention of VAR. Spurs did eventually get a first half lead when Thilo Kehrer turned into his own net on the end of Son Heung-min’s cross, with Tomas Soucek scoring early in the second half to earn his side a point.
As West Ham extended their unbeaten run to three matches heading into another London derby away at Chelsea on Saturday, here are the major talking points from the 1-1 draw.
READ MORE: Every word David Moyes said on West Ham's Tottenham draw, Craig Dawson's future and transfers
Back to their former selves
While there was no three points as a reward for West Ham’s efforts, Moyes’ players can come out of that game knowing that the performance was some level better than what they have so far shown this season in the league.
Roared on by a home crowd fired up for the London derby, Michail Antonio, Pablo Fornals and Declan Rice all got good chances to score early on and put Spurs and goalkeeper Hugo Lloris into action.
Even when Spurs thought they had a first-half penalty and when Kehrer turned into his own net, the Hammers never looked out of the tie, unlike their last two home meetings in the league, both of which ended in 2-0 defeats to Manchester City and Brighton and Hove Albion.
Soucek’s goal came from West Ham’s high pressing and forcing Spurs to rush their passing out from the back, as well as fight from Antonio and quality from Soucek to convert the chance.
Really, there was hope at the end to grab a late winner, with Jarrod Bowen going close before the winger then put the ball across goal in the final seconds of stoppage time, although both Antonio and Soucek were unable to add the final touch.
West Ham have been slow at getting going so far this season, but four points picked up from their meetings with Aston Villa and Spurs can be taken as a positive, especially with Chelsea and Newcastle United to come in their next two games
.
Fighting back from going behind
West Ham got their point after coming from behind and to do that for the first time this season against a side that had only dropped two points all season prior to kick-off takes some doing.
One thing present against Spurs was the sheer fight throughout. There was constant pressing, running into tackles, a desire to make things happen in attack, chasing down Spurs' presence going forward, all traits that have seen West Ham get their success in recent seasons that have perhaps been less visible in the opening games of this season so far.
Last season, West Ham picked up 14 of their 56 points (25%) after going behind in matches, with only Liverpool, Brentford and Everton taking more points last term.
It is a trait of character to not slump in the face of adversity and the fact that West Ham were able to do so against Tottenham, who would be two points off league leaders Arsenal if they won the game, is a sign that the Hammers are getting back to what everyone has become to expect of them in recent years.
VAR's presence
It is safe to say VAR (video assistant referees) has had quite the effect on West Ham's short, yet incident-filled, season so far.
Against Nottingham Forest in their first away league game of the season, Said Benrahma had a goal disallowed, while VAR also has featured on multiple occasions in their other games.
VAR went in the Hammers' favour early in the game and after a very lengthy pause in play of around four and a half minutes, the penalty Spurs thought they had won was no more.
That incident proved to be the turning point of the game. It gave West Ham confidence and the home fans a lift, even though the score was 0-0 at the time of the decision.
Luck has gone West Ham's way in the last two matches, with Ezri Konsa seeing his goal for Aston Villa ruled out by fortune and then scoring via a huge deflection on Sunday. Against Tottenham, VAR overturned a golden chance for Spurs to open the scoring, but they used that luck, as well as the reaction to it, to build a performance of being worthy of not ending the game empty-handed.
Michail Antonio's message
Dropped at Villa Park for Italian summer signing Gianluca Scamacca, Antonio was handed a return to the side up front against Spurs, with Scamacca currently sidelined with a virus.
Having started the season, prior to kick-off, slowly, Antonio was excellent up front and showed exactly why Moyes has been able to put so much faith into him in the two and a half years since he started his second stint at the club.
Early on, he smashed an effort towards goal that crashed off the outside of the post, before holding up and teeing up Soucek perfectly to give West Ham their equalising goal.
The Jamaican international pressed excellently, especially after half-time, among the players that had comfortably put in their best performance of the season to date in the league against Spurs.
In Antonio and Scamacca, Moyes has two very different options at his disposal up front, but Antonio proved in one of West Ham's highest profile games of the season that he will not give up his place in the side easily following Scamacca's arrival.
Craig Dawson's uncertain future
Centre-back Craig Dawson may have played his final game for the club, despite not featuring yet this season, with a deadline day exit from the London Stadium likely.
Aston Villa and Wolverhampton Wanderers have both been linked with interest in Dawson and after the game, Moyes confirmed that the club had received a bid for the defender, although they would like to keep hold of him.
Should Dawson, who is understood to be keen on a return to the West Midlands this summer, exit before the deadline closes on Thursday night, he will leave the club with cult hero status, having been such a big part of their success in the Premier League and in Europe over the last two seasons.
With Nayef Aguerd likely to miss most of the schedule between now and the World Cup, West Ham only have Kehrer, Kurt Zouma and a not-fully fit Angelo Ogbonna as options at centre-back, so if Dawson was to leave, the club may have to act fast in getting another centre-back through the door as a matter of urgency.
READ NEXT:
David Moyes sends warning to Tottenham’s Richarlison after Nottingham Forest ball juggling
West Ham player ratings as Soucek rescues a point against Tottenham as Cresswell struggles
David Moyes makes West Ham transfer admission amid Newcastle United and Brighton comparison
David Moyes delivers update on Craig Dawson’s West Ham future and gives Ross Barkley verdict
David Moyes lifts lid on potential transfer hijack talks for West Ham ‘statement signing’
