West Ham spoil Postecoglou’s Tottenham debut as Kane starts in friendly

West Ham spoiled Ange Postecoglou’s much-anticipated Tottenham coaching debut Tuesday with a pulsating 3-2 pre-season friendly victory in Perth.

West Ham thwarted Spurs’ late rally in a freewheeling contest between the London rivals in front of 46,266 fans at Optus Stadium.

The departure of captain Declan Rice to Arsenal has barely affected West Ham, who won their third straight pre-season game after Gianluca Scamacca broke the deadlock in the 78th minute.

They exploited a new-look Tottenham, who showcased glimpses of the high-octane style expected under Postecoglou but were creaky in defence.

Tottenham had a remarkable 30 shots to four but rued a slew of missed opportunities.

Harry Kane took Tottenham’s captaincy reins amid uncertainty over his future, having been courted aggressively by Bayern Munich.

He had an early close-range shot sensationally blocked by goalkeeper Lukasz Fabianski but was relatively subdued before being substituted at half-time.

Marquee signi

Full Story »