Sports

Obiang, Son net scorchers as Spurs draw with West Ham

West Ham United's Spanish goalkeeper Adrian (C) dives but fails to stop the shot from Tottenham Hotspur's South Korean striker Son Heung-Min for Tottenham's equalizing goal during the English Premier League football match at Wembley Stadium in London, on Thursday. — AFP
LONDON — Tottenham Hotspur endured a night of frustration against London rivals West Ham United but were spared a shock defeat as Son Heung-min salvaged a 1-1 draw with a stunning late equalizer at Wembley on Thursday. Good as Son's long-range swerving effort seven minutes from time was, it was still only the second-best goal of the night after Pedro Obiang's 70th-minute screamer put West Ham within sight of a smash-and-grab raid. Tottenham, bidding to become the only top-flight club to take 12 points from the hectic holiday program and close on the Premier League's top four, spent all night trying to pick a way through the claret and blue barricade in front of them. They ended the contest with 31 attempts to West Ham's three but were staring a costly defeat in the face when Obiang scored with the visitors' first attempt on goal. On a rare foray forward the midfielder found himself in space and belted a right-foot shoot that left Spurs keeper clawing at thin air as the ball whistled into the top corner. Tottenham poured forward in a desperate search to salvage something and Son delivered when he lashed a 25-meter effort past Adrian to finally puncture West Ham's resistance. Today we had 31 attempts and we needed an amazing goal from Son (to get a point), Tottenham manager Mauricio Pochettino told reporters. West Ham manager David Moyes said he was left in disbelief when Obiang produced his scorcher that looked likely to give his side a vital victory in their battle to pull clear of danger. The draw left Tottenham in fifth place, three points behind Liverpool in the battle for Champions League qualification, while West Ham edged up to 15th spot, two points above the drop zone, after one losing only once in their last seven league games. For all their territorial domination Tottenham's end product was lacking with top scorer Harry Kane guilty of missing a gilt-edged chance from Serge Aurier's knock-down in the first half. Adrian rescued his side seconds before halftime with an acrobatic save to keep out Christian Eriksen's deflected shot. The pattern continued in the second half with Kane, who has scored seven times in previous clashes with West Ham, Dele Alli and Eriksen peppering the West Ham goal. A scrappy affair was heading for stalemate before the two astonishing late strikes gave the fans something to remember. — Reuters