Tottenham - 3 West Ham - 2Tottenham are marching again while West Ham are still only marking time. Yet the narrowness of the margin by which Tottenham returned to second place yesterday, leaving their opponents stuck at the bottom, did not suggest there was the best part of a league's difference between the teams.
In fact, Glenn Hoddle's side were slightly fortunate not to be punished for a repetition of the slipshod defending which saw them lose at Fulham by the same score after they led 2-0 four days earlier.
Twice Spurs were in front yesterday and twice their defence threw the lead away, the second time after West Ham had been reduced to 10 men. Then, in a bizarre final twist, Spurs' best defender, the 6ft 5in Anthony Gardner, won them the match two minutes from time.
West Ham, whose recovery deserved some reward, were left to ponder what happened in Gardner's question time. Why did everybody let the centre-back lope 30 yards from the centre-circle before shooting? His effort took a wicked deflection off Gary Breen and left David James stranded.
Clearly Tottenham are not going to take the title from Arsenal and, unless they achieve greater consistency at the back, they will do well to be in the top six. That said, Spurs are showing refreshing verve and vision in attack and on this evidence the arrival of Robbie Keane can only help the aged up front.
Keane's £7m fee looked a snip as he followed a first half of intelligent industry with some inspired moments in the second, the best of which led to the desperate foul that saw Ian Pearce sent off by Uriah Rennie before Teddy Sheringham's penalty restored Spurs' lead at 2-1.
Nevertheless, had Joe Cole's touch not let him down at the crucial moment nine minutes from the end, Tottenham might have been chasing the game rather than winning it.
West Ham did not play like a bottom team. Frederic Kanoute and Paolo Di Canio gave their attack wit and imagination but, with Jermaine Defoe on the bench until the last six minutes, they lacked a presence in front of goal.
For much of a muddled first half the only footballing sense was provided by Jamie Redknapp's consistent opening up of the wings for Spurs in general, and Christian Ziege and Matthew Etherington on their left in particular. Redknapp remains a master of long, firm, accurate distribution and his service deserved better than the mishit centres they provided.
When Ziege at last found the proper direction six minutes before half-time Sheringham moved in front of Christian Dailly only to head into James's hands. By then West Ham had created the better chances, only to be let down by Cole. When Davies and Cole were moved in from their respective flanks both sides' balance improved.
Tottenham went ahead after finely-coordinated passing.
Gathering from Ben Thatcher, Keane neatly sent Etherington to the left-hand byline and he crossed the ball low. Davies slipped in front of Dailly and guided home.
Tottenham's relief was brief. Gary Doherty, a replacement for Chris Perry, headed a corner from Di Canio straight back and from the Italian's second cross Dailly nodded to the far post where Kanoute forced it in.
Within four minutes Spurs were back in front. Keane met a dropping ball by controlling it on his chest and then on an instep before flicking it past Pearce and running round him for a shot that never came, since Pearce then brought him down. The foul was an affront to an exceptional piece of football and even Pearce's red card and Sheringham's penalty seemed scant punishment.
But seven minutes later Di Canio floated a quick free-kick past Thatcher for Sinclair, anticipating well, to volley West Ham level again. Sinclair then nodded Cole away on a dash half the length of the field, only for the youngster to overrun the ball when he might have been shooting.
Nevertheless West Ham looked well capable of taking their season's second point and, had someone thought fit to challenge Gardner, would surely have done so.
"It's early days," said Hoddle, "but the league table doesn't lie".
West Ham, however, will continue to hope it is telling autumn porkies.
TOTTENHAM: Keller, Taricco (Thatcher 45), Ziege, Gardner, Perry (Doherty 32), Davies, Redknapp, Bunjevcevic, Etherington (Iversen 85), Sheringham, Keane. Subs Not Used: Hirschfeld, Acimovic. Booked: Bunjevcevic, Redknapp. Goals: Davies 62, Sheringham 71 pen, Gardner 89.
WEST HAM: James, Repka (Winterburn 10), Dailly, Breen, Pearce, Lomas, Sinclair, Cisse, Cole, Di Canio (Carrick 79), Kanoute (Defoe 85). Subs Not Used: Van Der Gouw, Camara. Sent Off: Pearce (70). Booked: Sinclair, Kanoute. Goals: Kanoute 66, Sinclair 77.
Referee: U Rennie (S Yorkshire).
