Soccer Football - Premier League - Tottenham Hotspur v West Ham United - Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, London, Britain - December 7, 2023 Tottenham Hotspur's Destiny Udogie in action with West Ham United's James Ward-Prowse Action Images via Reuters/Peter Cziborra NO USE WITH UNAUTHORIZED AUDIO, VIDEO, DATA, FIXTURE LISTS, CLUB/LEAGUE LOGOS OR 'LIVE' SERVICES. ONLINE IN-MATCH USE LIMITED TO 45 IMAGES, NO VIDEO EMULATION. NO USE IN BETTING, GAMES OR SINGLE CLUB/LEAGUE/PLAYER PUBLICATIONS.
LONDON (Reuters) - Tottenham Hotspur's 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 on Thursday.
A lacklustre West Ham were completely outplayed in the opening half in which the returning Cristian Romero's header was scant reward for Tottenham's domination.
But West Ham were much improved after the break and Jarrod Bowen's equaliser in the 52nd minute changed the complexion of the derby as Tottenham's early confidence ebbed away.
Tottenham then self-destructed in the 74th minute when Destiny Udogie's under-hit back pass caused chaos and James Ward-Prowse tucked in a rebound after his initial shot rebounded back to him off the post.
West Ham comfortably soaked up some late Tottenham pressure and held on for a victory that moved them within three points of their London rivals.
Tottenham remain in fifth place with 27 points but have picked up only one point from their last five games having led 1-0 in all of them. West Ham are ninth with 24 points.
(Reporting by Martyn Herman; Editing by Christian Radnedge)
