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Tottenham steal last gasp victory over West Ham

Tottenham scored in the fifth minute of injury time to win 4-3 at West Ham on Sunday and deny the Hammers vital points in their fight to avoid relegation.

Carlos Tevez had scored his first goal for West Ham and set up two more as the last-place team led 2-0 and then 3-2 in the 85th minute before conceding two late goals.

Dimitar Berbatov made it 3-3 with an 88th-minute free kick and, with the match a minute over the signaled four minutes of injury time, Tottenham counterattacked. West Ham goalkeeper Robert Green could only push Jermain Defoe's shot into the path of unmarked substitute Paul Stalteri, who put the ball into an empty net.

"We're in a position where we've got to win and sometimes, even in a winning position you don't know how to win any more," West Ham manager Alan Curbishley said. "I'm sure they worked as hard as they can. At the moment everything that can go wrong is going wrong."

West Ham had dropped to last place on Saturday when Watford drew 2-2 with 18th-place Charlton.

The Hammers and Watford each have 20 points from 29 games, with West Ham trailing on goal difference. Charlton has 24, six fewer than 17th-place Manchester City, which has played two games fewer.

West Ham was hit when central defender Matthew Upson, only just back after a calf muscle injury, limped off after 10 minutes. But the home side took the lead six minutes later.

Tevez took Paul Konchesky's through ball on his chest and set up Mark Noble, who scored.

Tevez made it 2-0 four minutes before halftime with a lofted free kick that flew over the wall and dipped over England goalkeeper Paul Robinson before flicking the underside of the crossbar and going in.

Spurs introduced midfielder Tom Huddlestone at halftime and got a goal back six minutes later. Lee Bowyer floored winger Aaron Lennon and former West Ham striker Defoe scored the resulting penalty despite the jeers of the home fans.

"That is why he is a top class player," Jol said. "They don't play hide and seek. It was an amazing game. To score the winner after all the substitutions was an amazing feeling."

Tottenham made it 2-2 in the 63rd. A quick-passing counterattack ended with Lennon's back heel volley into the path of Teemu Tainio, who volleyed into the goal from just inside the area.

The Hammers regained the lead and thought they had won when Tevez floated a free kick into the area and Bobby Zamora, who had been on the field for a few seconds as a substitute, jumped to head powerfully past Robinson.

However, Berbatov made it 3-3 with a free kick that brushed Konchesky's head as the defender tried to clear on the line.

Tevez almost made it 4-3 in the 89th with a shot that shaved the post before Stalteri's injury-time winner.

Tottenham moved up to eighth place with 42 points, five fewer than fifth-place Bolton, which lost 2-1 to visiting Blackburn in Sunday's other game.

Benni McCarthy scored two penalties to put Blackburn 2-0 ahead before Wanderers replied through Nicolas Anelka in the 87th and had a late equalizer from Abdoulaye Faye ruled out for offside.

McCarthy put the team ahead with his 17th goal of the season after Gary Speed had brought down David Bentley in the 58th.

The second penalty was given in the 68th when Faye hauled down McCarthy. This time, goalkeeper Jussi Jaaskelainen got a hand to the powerfully hit kick but couldn't stop it going in.

Rovers should have scored a third in the 84th when Jason Roberts got clear of the Wanderers defense but Jaaskelainen raced off his line to block his shot.
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