West Ham are now without a win in eight games after a 1-1 home draw against London rivals Tottenham, who were much changed ahead of Thursday’s Europa League semi-final second leg.
With Spurs’ focus entirely on Europe and their Premier League season a write-off, boss Ange Postecoglou made eight changes from the first-leg 3-1 home win over Bodo/Glimt as he left several key players on the bench ahead of the trip to Norway.
One of the players brought in, Wilson Odobert, gave the visitors a 15th-minute lead as Mathys Tel forced a Max Kilman mistake, which allowed him to set Odobert up for his first Tottenham Premier League goal.
But West Ham responded 13 minutes later as Jarrod Bowen easily got in behind the Spurs defence to finish through Guglielmo Vicario’s legs at the near post.
The simplicity of both Odobert’s opener and Bowen’s equaliser epitomised these clubs’ miserable domestic seasons, with a point still separating 17th-placed West Ham and 16th-placed Tottenham.
Jarrod Bowen equalised for West Ham
A low-key second half saw two shots on target – Bowen’s flick at a free-kick producing a decent Vicario save – as both sides settled for a point in what felt like a classic end-of-season affair.
Richarlison shows his frustration at the London Stadium
The draw means West Ham boss Graham Potter has only won three of his 16 games in charge, while Tottenham avoided a club-record 20th Premier League defeat.
But for the north Londoners, attentions now turn to Thursday’s crunch second leg above the Arctic Circle as they aim to reach the Europa League final and keep hopes alive of silverware and Champions League qualification.
