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Tottenham Hotspur vs. West Ham United: In which White Hart Lane was a dumpster fire

Good timing, international break. We might need you.

Mike Hewitt

Since the last international break, things have gone spectacularly for Tottenham Hotspur. While a home draw against Chelsea was slightly disappointing, Spurs went undefeated in six straight games, with five wins and one draw. With the Manchesters floundering, they looked like legitimate title contenders. Then, Sunday happened.

Spurs might have looked like the better side in the first half of their game against West Ham and finished with much more possession, but they were thoroughly outplayed in the second half and looked very poor en route to a 3-0 loss to the Hammers. Between Spurs' lack of a defensive midfielder, a reported illness for Kyle Walker and some poor play by Michael Dawson, Spurs were carved up twice on the counter after giving up a set piece opener.

An uneventful and scoreless first half gave way to a similar early second half, with Spurs struggling to create chances. In the 66th minute, West Ham earned a corner and took advantage of it, with Kevin Nolan knocking down a ball for Winston Reid to smash home. From then on, Spurs looked jumpy, took more risks and were exposed on the break.

Ricardo Vaz Te got behind Dawson on a through ball by Mark Noble to score the Hammers' second goal, in the 72nd minute. Hugo Lloris saved his initial attempt, but the save bounced right back off Vaz Te and into the back of the net. Ravel Morrison netted West Ham's final goal after Mohamed Diame beat Mousa Dembele in midfield and found Morrison in space. Jan Vertonghen couldn't recover and Morrison broke Dawson's ankles before finishing past Lloris.

It was an all-around poor performance from Spurs, and I'm sure we'll have much more to say after we sleep on it, then re-watch this atrocity. For now, all I have to say is that this stinks.

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