Rate it!

136 votes

Tottenham Hotspur beat West Ham 2-0 in the Premier League thanks to a rising header from Ledley King and a late goal from Jamie O'Hara.

Spurs captain King met a cross 10 yards out, headed downwards and the bouncing ball beat Hammers goalkeeper Robert Green just inside the post.

In the 90th minute, with Heurelho Gomes having just pulled off a fantastic double save to maintain Spurs' lead, O'Hara cut inside from the left and let fly into the top corner with his favoured left foot. Green had no chance.

The victory gave Spurs their ninth win in 12 games under manager Harry Redknapp. It also moved them into 15th place in the Premier League, one spot ahead of their London rivals, with both teams on 18 points.

King's goal was on 68 minutes, but the game had threatened to deliver more as both sides dominated in spells of alternate pressure.

After some heated early exchanges - Craig Bellamy and Didier Zokora squared up after four minutes while West Ham skipper Lucas Neill started with both Zokora and Roman Pavlyuchenko off the ball - West Ham emerged the stronger side in the first half.

Bellamy was the danger man, coming deep to collect the ball and attacking a Spurs defence which welcomed back King after he sat out the midweek Carling Cup success against Watford.

Welsh striker Bellamy and partner Carlton Cole threatened many times, but the final pass was lacking.

Gianfranco Zola's side did have the ball in the net on 22 minutes when Neill headed in Bellamy's cross. But referee Chris Foy ruled that the Australian had pushed Jermaine Jenas in the process.

Foy turned down a pair of strong penalty shouts for handball in the second half, one for either side.

Firstly, Herita Ilunga clearly blocked Vedran Corluka's cross with a raised arm, while a Cole header after Tottenham had gone a goal up was diverted at point-blank range by Benoit Assou-Ekotto's forearm.

Pavlyuchenko, who struggled alone up front after Darren Bent had been left on the bench, hit the post in the first half after a brilliant low cross by Lennon took out the home rearguard.

Croatia star Luka Modric was back in action behind Pavlyuchenko after four matches out and did some good things.

But it was the arrival of Bent for the Russian in the 54th minute that kick-started Spurs' most prolonged spell of attacking play after the Hammers had initially dominated after the break.

Bent's finishing was poor and it was difficult to put a finger on why the away side's fortunes changed so quickly with him on the pitch. But change they did.

West Ham found a way back late on after David Di Michele and former Liga star Diego Tristan were thrown on, the latter for his debut. Former Serie A striker Di Michele should have equalised before O'Hara's strike.

The much-maligned Gomes had kept goal comfortably throughout and repaid the faith of Redknapp when he superbly stopped Neill's volley from 18 yards, despite being unsighted.

When the ball was played back in, Di Michele's shot on the turn was again saved by Gomes, this time the Brazilian holding on to the ball in a crowded penalty area.

Moments later O'Hara sealed the win with his fine strike.

Jonathan Symcox / Eurosport