Spurs deepen West Ham's woes with 3-0 win as Soucek sees red
LONDON : Tottenham Hotspur cruised to a comprehensive 3-0 win over West Ham United on Saturday to leave the home side languishing in the Premier League bottom three, with the Hammers suffering another blow as midfielder Tomas Soucek was sent off for a dangerous tackle.
Christian Romero had the ball in the net for Spurs with a header from a corner in the 19th minute, but the goal was immediately ruled out by referee Jarred Gillett for a push in the build-up, with the VAR confirming his decision as correct.
With Tottenham sensing weakness, the West Ham penalty area resembled a wrestling ring at every set piece and they could have easily have conceded a penalty for some over-zealous grappling as they struggled to keep track of the Spurs players.
When the visitors took the lead in the 47th minute, it predictably came from a set piece as Pape Matar Sarr was left unmarked at the back post, and he sent a powerful header from a Xavi Simons corner flying into the net.
Soucek was then shown a straight red card for a horrendously-timed studs-up challenge on Joao Palhinha that ripped the sock of the Spurs player, and any chance of a comeback evaporated with his dismissal.
Spurs worked the resulting free kick across the field for Lucas Bergvall to score his first Premier League goal with a looping header from Romero's cross, and the Swedish midfielder then teed up Micky Van de Ven for the third in the 64th minute.
Down to 10 men, West Ham were pinned back for much of the rest of the game, barely threatening the Spurs goal as they slumped to their third league defeat of the season.
The win moves Spurs up to second in the table on nine points and leaves West Ham in 18th with three points from their first four games.
