Tottenham 3 – 1 West Ham

Heung-Min Son was Tottenham’s hero as his double sealed a crucial 3-1 win over rivals West Ham to boost their Premier League top-four hopes.

Spurs took the lead inside the first 10 minutes when Kurt Zouma – who was repeatedly booed by the home crowd for his cat-kicking incident from earlier this year – diverted Harry Kane’s cross into his own net (9) while under pressure from Son.

Antonio Conte’s side hassled and harried a makeshift back five put out by the Hammers and another swift breakaway saw Son hit the post just minutes after the opener. But it was not long before the South Korean made his mark on the game.

Once again, Kane was at the heart of the move with the England captain playing his favourite team-mate through on goal down the left, before Son slammed an unstoppable shot (24) into the top-left corner of Lukasz Fabianski’s net.

But despite the home side’s early dominance, West Ham put out a reminder of why they refuse to go away in this top-four race. Craig Dawson won a flick-on from Aaron Cresswell’s outswinging corner, leaving Said Benhrama the simple task of a close-range finish (35) in a well-worked set-piece routine.

Son made West Ham pay for Michail Antonio’s missed second-half sitter when he raced through from Kane’s flick-on to slot past Fabianski – and send Conte into wild celebrations on the touchline.

David Moyes’ Hammers and their fans came into the game in dreamland after their Europa League triumph over Sevilla – but the hard load of 120 minutes on Thursday night affected their players’ legs early on in this.

Defender Zouma was warned about his sloppiness when he gave the ball away cheaply on two occasions ahead of Spurs’ opener, before his team-mate Cresswell gifted the home side the early advantage.

Cresswell’s poor pass out from the back was picked up by Matt Doherty, who fed Kane to cut a low cross into Son’s path. The forward was ahead of the ball in but Zouma did the work for him with his outstretched leg making contact with the ball and sending it past Fabianski.

Kane nearly went from hero to zero as his slack backpass was picked up by Antonio, who flashed a shot wide inside the box when he should have done better from the right of the area.

But back came Spurs and Dejan Kulusevski went on a brilliant solo run, with his cross finding Son who struck the outside of the post.

The South Korean went one better midway through the half as a brilliant turn and through ball from Kane found him down the left channel. Spurs’ No 7 stood up Zouma, who allowed a shot across Fabianski’s goal and it was a sumptuous finish into the top corner.

That was the 38th time Son and Kane have combined for a Premier League goal, with the England captain now on 51 top-flight assists. Kane also has a goal or an assist in six out of his last seven Premier League matches.

But Tottenham rested on their laurels and failed to add to their advantage which allowed West Ham a route back in.

Dawson beat four Spurs defenders underneath Cresswell’s delivery and that aerial win was crucial for Benrahma to latch onto the ball and slam past Hugo Lloris from six yards out.

West Ham were relieved to go into the break still in the contest but Tottenham tried to turn the screw after the break. Son led a counter-attack before slipping Kane through on goal, but Fabianski did well to get to his feet and deny the striker his sixth goal in five matches.

The momentum from that chance was halted as two protestors ran onto the pitch and tried to attach themselves to the goalposts, in replica scenes to Everton’s stoppage against Newcastle on Thursday, and West Ham grew into the game.

Antonio wasted another chance when he blasted Cresswell’s cross wide from around eight yards out, before being replaced by Andriy Yarmolenko, who fired into the side-netting down the left within minutes.

As the second-half clock ticked on, West Ham began to tire after their European exploits – and their opponents took control. Spurs cried for a penalty when yet another Kane throughball saw Sergio Reguilon collide with Ben Johnson, but referee Anthony Taylor waved away the home side’s complaints. Spurs’ front three then combined, resulting in a shooting chance for Kulusevski, who fired over.

Despite his excellence in giving the ball in crucial moments, Kane then spurned a major opportunity to put the game past West Ham with 10 minutes left. The Spurs talisman remained onside and was played through from a dink over the top, but could only prod over.

But that wasted opportunity did not matter as Son raced through after Kane flicked Lloris’ goal-kick on for a one-on-one to seal the three vital points.

With the result sealed, Spurs’ faithful rose to their feet to salute Conte with chants of “Antonio, Antonio”, with the full belief they can get a top-four finish. The north Londoners go into the international break with back-to-back wins to boost their Champions League qualification credentials.

What’s next?

After the international break, Tottenham have a favourable run of fixtures in April – with only two opponents (Aston Villa, ninth and Leicester, 10th) currently based in the top half of the table, with the remaining three (Newcastle, Brighton and Brentford) near the bottom of the table.

Spurs’ first clash after the break is at home to Newcastle on Sunday April 3 live on Sky Sports Super Sunday; kick-off 4.30pm.

West Ham’s next three games are all based in London, starting with Everton at home on April 3, which is the game before their Europa League quarter-final clash with Lyon. The Hammers face Brentford on April 10 in between the two legs, before travelling to Lyon.