Emenike shines again as Hammers stop Spurs

West Ham United loanee, Emmanuel Emenike, made the starting line up as the Hammers denied Tottenham Hotspur the chance to move up to the top of the Premier League table for the first time this season by beating their London rivals 1-0 at Upton Park.
The Nigerian striker left the pitch for Andy Carroll after seeing 73 minutes of action in the encounter.
Emenike was close to punishing Hugo Lloris after the goalie’s heavy touch off a back-pass from Kieran Trippier, but managed to get to the ball moments before the West Ham forward could cause any trouble.
Michail Antonio scored the only goal of the game as the Hammers put a dent in Spurs’ title hopes in the seventh minute of the clash.
Spurs remain second in the standings, three points behind leaders, Leicester City, while West Ham’s charge for a European spot continues as Slaven Bilic’s side move up to fifth, just one point behind fourth-placed Manchester City.
Antonio has been in fine form of late having scored in four of his last five home games before tonight, and he continued that trend by giving the Hammers’ an early lead.
The ball was whipped into the box by Dimitri Payet from the corner flag and it found the head of Antonio, who directed it towards the near post, and despite Hugo Lloris getting a touch, it was not enough to keep out the header.
After being dealt an early blow, Spurs tried to immediately respond through Ben Davies, who drilled a low shot towards the centre of the goal, but Adrian comfortably dropped to the floor to make a save.
West Ham went hunting for more goals and Mark Noble almost came close with a 25-yard strike, but Lloris leapt in the air to his left to prevent the ball from nestling into the net.
Spurs had the majority of first-half possession, but they struggled to find that clinical touch in the final third and many of Mauricio Pochettino’s players were guilty of stray passes.
After the break, Spurs needed a reaction and they went the right way in doing so as they improved on the ball and began putting their opponents under pressure.
Erik Lamela had a decent opportunity to score early in the second half when Trippier was caught napping at the near post, allowing the Argentine to meet the end of a cross and divert a header, but his attempt went wide.
The second half was controlled by Spurs, but against the run of play, Antonio came close to nabbing a second when he connected with Payet’s ball into the box, but this time, his header went over the bar.
The visitors put West Ham under pressure in the dying minutes of the game as a corner from Eriksen almost caused an upset to the hosts, but Adrian was there to punch clear.
Spurs will look at the result as an opportunity missed, particularly as their title rivals Arsenal were beaten 2-1 by Swansea City at the Emirates on Wednesday evening.
Tottenham face their North London enemies on Saturday.