Roman Pavlyuchenko gave Spurs all three points against West Ham with a 65th-minute winner at White Hart Lane.
Pavlyuchenko comes off the bench to lift Spurs up to eighth
Substitute Roman Pavlyuchenko gave Tottenham all three points against London rivals West Ham with a 65th-minute winner at White Hart Lane.
Pavlyuchenko took one touch to control Luka Modric's pass, a second to turn past James Collins and a clinical third to fire right-footed past the outstretched Robert Green.
Robbie Keane also saw a second-half shot cleared off the line by Collins after Green had spread himself well at the feet of Aaron Lennon, and David Di Michele squandered West Ham's best pair of chances as they pressed for an equaliser.
Di Michele's best chance came directly from a goal kick which Jonathan Woodgate failed to clear. Di Michele turned the centre-back well, but he rushed his shot and failed to get enough power behind it to trouble Heurelho Gomes.
Tottenham's win ends West Ham's five-game unbeaten streak and moves them up to eighth place, just three points behind Gianfranco Zola's men.
With Everton playing on Sunday, West Ham missed the chance to cut the gap on the sixth-place team to four points.
Tottenham however kept their hopes of European football alive thanks to Pavlyuchenko's winner, which came just nine minutes after coming off the bench.
His 14th goal of the season means the race for seventh place in the Premier League is hotting up.
Such is the tightness of this season, Spurs have been fighting against relegation since Harry Redknapp's arrival in October but now could qualify for the Europa League.
"The reality is we are not out of trouble yet," Redknapp wrote in his programme notes - but they are surely safe now.
Redknapp spent seven years at West Ham and nurtured the likes of Rio Ferdinand and Joe Cole but away fans still taunted their former manager, a bitterness that has also been fuelled by the Spurs manager remaining unbeaten against his old employers since leaving them.
It added spice to a London derby that already had plenty of controversial recent history.
Spurs had not been beaten by the Hammers since a mystery virus hit their squad three years ago and denied them a place in the Champions League.
Both clubs are now chasing a place in next season's revamped Uefa Cup, although there was little in the way of first-half action that would have graced even Europe's second-tier competition.
The main talking point of the first half was a trio of penalty shouts from the hosts being turned down.
They felt they should have had a spot-kick 20 minutes into the contest when Keane's shot flicked up and struck James Tomkins' arm.
Referee Martin Atkinson waved play on and did so again two minutes later when Keane went over in the penalty area under a challenge from Luis Boa Morte.
The third appeal was turned down when Di Michele challenged Vedran Corluka for the ball, with Atkinson deciding the tackle was shoulder-to-shoulder rather than a foul.
Hammers goalkeeper Green was called into action twice in a minute just after the half-hour mark.
Tom Huddlestone, making his first league start since Boxing Day as Wilson Palacios was suspended, drove towards the box and unleashed a drive from outside the penalty area that required a save.
When the ball broke for Keane, England keeper Green used his shoulder to save as the shot from the Spurs skipper was scuffed and moving unpredictably.
Darren Bent then headed wide with the next chance for the hosts, just before Di Michele had one effort saved by Gomes at the near post and another blocked by Woodgate's knee.
A foot problem for Jermaine Jenas flared up and he was replaced by Didier Zokora at half-time, who added bite in the midfield and picked up a yellow card for fouling Lucas Neill. Neill then got a booking himself for clipping Modric.
The Hammers enjoyed a spell of pressure and Redknapp's response was to introduce Russian striker Pavlyuchenko, who replaced Bent in attack.
Pavlyuchenko immediately got his head on Huddlestone's free-kick but Green positioned himself perfectly.
Green then launched the ball up field and found Di Michele, who raced through behind Woodgate and saw his finish saved by Gomes.
Di Michele was in the thick of the acion and got himself booked for a foul on Lennon when the winger, with England assistant Stuart Pearce in the crowd watching, ran at the visitors at full throttle.
Pearce will also report back to Fabio Capello on Green, who beat away Huddlestone's fearsome drive.
There was nothing Green could have done about the 65th-minute winner.
Modric received the ball with his back to goal but smuggled it through Neill and Matthew Upson to Pavlyuchenko.
The Spurs substitute had to hold off Collins before getting a shot away that went past Green and in at the far post.
Kieron Dyer came on for the visitors and went wide with their best late effort, while Green tipped over a curling effort from Lennon and Keane had an effort cleared off the line by Collins.
| Tottenham Hotspur |
Team Statistics |
West Ham United |
| 1 |
Goals |
0 |
| 0 |
1st Half Goals |
0 |
| 6 |
Shots on Target |
3 |
| 8 |
Shots off Target |
2 |
| 3 |
Blocked Shots |
3 |
| 10 |
Corners |
1 |
| 10 |
Fouls |
16 |
| 2 |
Offsides |
4 |
| 1 |
Yellow Cards |
5 |
| 0 |
Red Cards |
0 |
| 85 |
Passing Success |
78.1 |
| 17 |
Tackles |
20 |
| 76.5 |
Tackles Success |
65 |
| 58.1 |
Possession |
41.9 |
| 62.6 |
Territorial Advantage |
37.4 |
|
