West Ham United's Tomas Soucek in action with Tottenham Hotspur's Oliver Skipp
West Ham United midfielder Tomas Soucek was hailed by the media for his performance away at Tottenham Hotspur this afternoon.
The Lowdown: West Ham defeated
West Ham came up short in their tough trip to the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium today, with second-half goals from Emerson Royal and Son Heung-min proving to be the difference between the two sides.
Jarrod Bowen had a very good chance to equalise minutes after the opener, but he was denied by Fraser Forster, before Son latched onto a through ball from Harry Kane to secure all three points for the hosts.
The Latest: Soucek hailed
Despite the defeat, Soucek was hailed by members of the media for his performance in midfield, with Josh Bunting saying:
“Tomas Soucek has struggled this season for form, much better so far this afternoon though. He’s actually worked quite well in West Ham’s high pressing game. His best performance in quite sometime, West Ham well organised and have cut off the supply into Harry Kane closing space.”
Journalist Alan Rzepa was also full of praise for the 27-year-old, describing him as ‘fabulous’ when he is part of a midfield three.
The Verdict: Encouraging signs
While the defeat will be very disappointing for David Moyes’ side, it was an encouraging performance from the Czech Republic international, receiving a 7.4 rating from Sofascore, the highest of any West Ham player.
The most pleasing aspect of the 6 foot 4 titan’s performance was his defensive work, making a total of three tackles and five interceptions, totalling a higher combined figure on those metrics than anyone else on the pitch, while he also won six aerial duels.
A display of this quality against a team vying for the Champions League places will be very pleasing for David Moyes, and Soucek has now staked his claim to be a more regular starter, having only appeared as a substitute in two of the previous three Premier League matches before today.
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