Johnson, Vicario lead Spurs to 1-1 draw at West Ham

Today's match at West Ham could not have started any better for the Lilywhites, as forward Timo Werner found fellow attacker Brennan Johnson in the fifth minute to put the visitors up 1-0.

Although West Ham tied the score up 14 minutes later, following a fluky goal from defender Kurt Zouma off a corner, Spurs still kept up the pace. Despite the score being tied at the break, it looked as if the day could very well belong to Tottenham.

However, a second half filled with chances for both sides still ended in a draw, as neither squad could capitalize, leading to a scoreline of 1-1.

Spurs remain fifth in the Premier League table with 57 points, while West Ham sit two places behind in seventh with 45. Both sides commented on the tie, and each managers' thoughts were insightful.

"I would have taken [a point] before the game, " said David Moyes, West Ham's manager.

Continuing, he explained, "Tottenham are a really good team, so for us to be winning and drawing against Tottenham this season is good for us. Fair credit to the lads, they kept at it, we were a threat in a lot of the things we’ve done. I genuinely thought we didn’t deserve to go behind tonight. They had moments at the end, in the second half we had a few moments, maybe the draw was the right result in the end."

Speaking for Spurs, Ange Postecoglou delivered his own message. "There's a lot of games to go still. I will be very surprised if all games aren't tight. Everyone is fighting for something. We have to maintain our levels," said Postecoglou.

"It was tough, they sat deep and compact. For the most part we controlled the game pretty well, we got a great start. They’re always going to be a threat from set pieces, our decision-making in the final third didn’t help us. Both teams left it all out there, we’re obviously disappointed not to win but it’s a tough place to come, we just needed to be a little bit more clinical,” the manager continued.

Four yellow cards from defenders Cristian Romero and Micky Van de Ven (in his first game back from injury), as well midfielder Rodrigo Bentancur and Johnson, did not help Spurs in the discipline department.

Although playing with passion and intensity can help a team in the right circumstances, it almost came back to bite the squad today. Luckily, goalkeeper Guglielmo Vicario was in top form at London Stadium.

The Italian goalie had solid stops throughout the match, including one from close range off of Hammers attacker Michail Antonio, who's has been a thorn in Tottenham's side over the past few years.

The goal scored from Zouma, who was essentially unmarked, was one that Vicario couldn't really do anything with. It could be fair to say that the goalkeeper kept Spurs in the match even though the defense stumbled at times.

Moving forward, the back-line will need to be locked in, and the offense will also have to pick up the pace. Filled with a plethora of attacking threats in Johnson, Werner, captain Son Heung-min, Richarlison, James Maddison and more, the Lilywhites will need to find the back of the net with greater frequency in order to increase their chances of notching a top four finish, and guaranteed European football next season.

Looking ahead to Sunday at home against Nottingham Forest, the high pressure threat of 'Angeball' needs to be back in full swing. The rest of this season depends on it.