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A 13-minute, three goal second half blitz by West Ham gave the Hammers their first win at White Hart Lane since April 1999.

Winston Reid, Ricardo Vaz Te and Ravel Morrison were the goalscoring heroes as West Ham thrashed Tottenham in their own back yard - much to the delight of the long-suffering travelling contingent of United fans.

Thosee same fans had travelled the length and breadth of the country already this season - that's to Southampton, Newcastle and Hull - without seeing a single West Ham goal. But the tables were well and truly turned on an afternoon in which Sam Allardyce got his tactics absolutely spot on.

Big Sam's decision to name not one single recognised striker in his starting XI left many fans scratching their heads, but the wily old boss got it absolutely spot on as his team contained their hosts before destroying them with three goals in 13 crazy second half minutes.

Having dropped the ineffective Modibo Maiga and Matt Jarvis - along with Joey O'Brien, presumably as a result of conceding the penalty that led to last week's 1-0 defeat at Hull - Allardyce played a variation of the popular 'False Nine' tactic that requires the target man to drop deep in order to receive the ball (with Ricardo Vaz Te playing at the head of the formation).

And whilst goalscoring opportunites were few and far between for West Ham in the opening half - good chances for Winston Reid (sliced header from a corner) and Kevin Nolan (fired wide when he should have hit the target) aside - United did an excellent job of containing their hosts, who managed just one shot on target before the break.

No doubt stung into action by a half time rollicking, Tottenham started the second period with the bit betwwen their teeth and Jermain Defoe, formerly of West Ham should have opened the scoring when put through on goal in the opening minute of the half. However Jussi Jaaskelainen had other ideas and the Finn was alert enough to make an important intervention.

For as hard as they huffed and puffed, Tottenham - who have themselves managed just six goals all season - rarely looked like breaching a West Ham defence superbly marshalled by James Tomkins, who gave a peformance full of maturity and commitment.

All of which meant that if West Ham took whatever small morsels might come their way, a surprise could be on the cards. Yet nobody could have predicted what was to happen between the 66th and 79th minute of the match:

BOOM! 66 minutes: Winston Reid's header from Stewart Downing's corner is going wide before it hits captain Kevin Nolan. The ball rebounds to the New Zealander who toe-pokes it over the line.

BOOM! 72 minutes: Ricardo Vaz Te's initial shot is saved after the Portuguese forward is sent through on goal but the rebound hits the player and bounces back into an empty net.

BOOM! 79 minutes: Ravel Morrison picks up the ball on the halfway line and skips through the Tottenham defence before lifting the ball over Hugo Lloris to score an early contender for goal of the season.

As the travelling supporters danced in delight on the terraces, the home fans slunk off in their thousands to chants of "is there a fire drill?" and "can we play you every week?", as the game petered out to its inevitable conclusion.

The win takes West Ham five places up the table to 13th, whilst Tottenham - who prior to today had conceded just two goals in the Premier League this season - remain in sixth. Next up for the Hammers is the visit of Manchester City, 13 days from now.



Tottenham Hotspur 0-3 West Ham United: Match Facts

West Ham Utd: Jaaskelainen, Demel, Tomkins, Reid, Rat, Noble (O'Brien 90), Morrison, Nolan, Downing, Diame (Collins 80), Vaz Te (Cole 86).

Subs not used: Adrian, Jarvis, Petric, Maiga.

Goals: Reid (66), Vaz Te (72), Morrison (79).

Shots (on/off target): 16 (5/11).

Possession: 39%.

Tottenham Hotspur: Lloris, Walker, Naughton (Holtby 81), Dawson, Vertonghen, Paulinho, Dembele, Townsend, Sigurdsson (Lamela 63), Eriksen (Soldado 74), Defoe.

Subs not used: Friedel, Chadli, Sandro, Chiriches.

Goals: None.

Shots (on/off target): 14 (4/10).

Possession: 61%.

Referee: Lee Probert.

Attendance: 35,977.

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