Antonio Conte has labelled West Ham a long ball team and says Spurs should have won the game after a 1-1 draw at the London Stadium.
West Ham found themselves 1-0 down at half-time due to a Thilo Kehrer own-goal after a swift counter attack from Tottenham Hotspur.
In truth Spurs would have had a tap in had Kehrer not slid in to try and stop the cross.
It was another tepid, lacklustre first half display from West Ham, something that has become an unwelcome habit since the turn of the year let alone this season.
But another much improved second half performance saw Tomas Soucek equalise after a clever flick from Michail Antonio.
West Ham then wasted three gilt-edged chances to win the game late on.
In the 88th and 90th minute the ball flashed across the Spurs area just waiting to be tapped home by a West Ham player.
A mix-up between new signing Lucas Paqueta and Emerson saw the former miss the chance to crown an impressive debut with the winner against bitter rivals Spurs.
Tottenham saw a first half penalty call overruled when the referee was sent to the pitchside monitor. Quite why the VAR took so long is anyone’s guess as replays clearly showed the ball hitting Aaron Cresswell in the face before deflecting onto his hand.
In the end the ref made the right decision as pundits and commentators – including a certain Tottenham legend Glenn Hoddle – concurred.
A point was probably fair for both sides although West Ham will rue missed opportunities having also hit the post in the first half.
That’s not how Tottenham’s manager saw things, though, when speaking to BT Sport after the clash.
Antonio Conte labelled West Ham a long ball team and says Spurs should have won the game.
The Italian also insisted the penalty should have stood.
Antonio Conte labels West Ham a long ball team and says Spurs should have won the game
“I think maybe we deserved a bit more than a draw,” Spurs boss Conte said on BT Sport.
“But at the end I think they also had a chance to score.
“It’s not easy to play against West Ham. They are a physical team, very strong.
“They play this long ball (style), (long) throw-ins, corners you have to pay great attention. I think that we did well also on set pieces to defend well…
“With the ball we played well and also created opportunities to score…
“Honestly at the end of the first half I spoke with the referee and I said ‘you have taken the right decision and then, it’s incredible, the VAR (intervened)…
“It was really, really strange this call from VAR… the referee has taken the right decision (in the first place). In England they have to learn much more to use VAR in the right way… It is difficult to accept, not only for me but any coach.”
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