Ange Postecoglou Loses To West Ham In First Game As Tottenham Manager

The Ange Postecoglou era at Tottenham Hotspur began with a 3-2 loss to London rivals West Ham United in a pre-season friendly in Australia on Tuesday.

Robert Summerscales | Jul 18, 2023

Ange Postecoglou Loses To West Ham In First Game As Tottenham Manager /

The Ange Postecoglou era at Tottenham Hotspur began with a loss to London rivals West Ham in a pre-season friendly on Tuesday.

Giovani Lo Celso and Destiny Udogie found the net for Spurs in an open and entertaining game in Perth, Australia.

But the Hammers won it 3-2 thanks to strikes from Danny Ings, Divin Mubama and Gianluca Scamacca.

Ange Postecoglou pictured during his first game as Tottenham manager - a 3-2 loss to West Ham in a pre-season friendly in July 2023 — Ange Postecoglou pictured during his first game as Tottenham manager - a 3-2 loss to West Ham in a pre-season friendly in Perth, Australia :: IMAGO/AAP/Richard Wainwright

Spurs dominated the first half in terms of both possession (70%) and chances, registering 11 shots to West Ham's three.

But Postecoglou's team found themselves 2-0 down at half-time following headed goals from Ings and Mubama.

Postecoglou made 11 substitutions ahead of the second half, taking off the likes of Harry Kane and James Maddison, while Hammers boss David Moyes made just one change at the interval.

Despite now having what appeared to be his 'B Team' on the field, Postecoglou saw his side continue to outplay West Ham in the second half.

After making a string of fine saves, West Ham keeper Lukasz Fabianski was finally beaten in the 68th minute when Lo Celso lashed home a volley following a headed assist by Davinson Sanchez.

The game was level three minutes later when Udogie marked his Spurs debut by heading an Ivan Perisic corner into the net.

A Tottenham winner was looking likely but West Ham landed a sucker punch on 78 minutes by exploiting their opponents' high defensive line.

Scamacca ran in behind Sanchez to collect a fine Pablo Fornals pass before finishing coolly past reserve keeper Brandon Austin.

The game finished with Spurs having recorded 30 shots - 26 more than the Hammers.

Spurs will next be in pre-season action on Sunday when they take on Leicester City in Thailand.

Meanwhile, West Ham will now return to England, where they will face Dagenham & Redbridge on Saturday.

READ MORE: Four Things We Learned From Ange Postecoglou's First Tottenham Game