Carabao Cup: West Ham Stuns London Rivals, Tottenham
West Ham manager Slaven Bilic said his side “reacted in the most brilliant way” after coming from two goals down at half-time to beat London rivals Tottenham and reach the Carabao Cup quarter-finals.
Bilic has been under pressure following their Premier League drubbing by Brighton at London Stadium on Friday, but was enthused by the reaction to their abject first-half showing against Spurs.
Striker Andre Ayew netted twice from close range and Angelo Ogbonna nodded in the third from a corner to complete a stunning turnaround.
They had got off to the worst possible start at Wembley, conceding after just five minutes as a high defensive line was exploited by Son Heung-min’s pass through to Moussa Sissoko to stroke home.
Dele Alli had a close-range header tipped away by goalkeeper Adrian, but the Tottenham midfielder curled in a deflected second before half-time from the edge of the box following neat build-up play by Son.
Bilic said: “To score three goals against them – who do not concede goals – then be brave and compact and good on the ball, we deserved it and it is a big boost for us.
“The mood was down at half-time, but not as down as against Brighton. That result was bad but we played good football. We did not penetrate Spurs enough, were not good in the final third and we said things about what we should do when they and ourselves have the ball.
“I am calm and glad when we win in this way. You see the team is very alive and we are very stubborn in a positive way.
“There is no time and place to go large now. We have done a lot, but considering the season, we have done nothing.”
Spurs, who rested top scorer Harry Kane and skipper Hugo Lloris, could have taken the tie to extra time, but Alli’s thumping volley and Sissoko’s curled effort were both kept out by Adrian.
