West Brom 1-0 Spurs

West Brom hit us with a late sucker punch to take maximum points at The Hawthorns on Saturday.

Fighting for survival, The Baggies set up to defend deep and soak up pressure and did exactly that. We had almost 75 per cent possession and the shot count was 18-9 in our favour but we only opened up the massed defence twice - Harry Kane was denied by Ben Foster in the first half and the best move of the game presented Erik Lamela with a chance in front of goal after the break but a heavy touch allowed Foster to gather.

The goalkeeper also saved well as Victor Wanyama and Christian Eriksen tried their luck from distance and clawed away Fernando Llorente's late header.

West Brom rarely ventured into our half - especially in the first half - but were always a threat from set-pieces.

Just about every chance they created was from a set-piece delivery and they finally found a way through in the second minute of added time when Matt Phillips' corner was turned home by former Spur Jake Livermore.

Team news

Mauricio Pochettino made four changes to the team that started against Watford on Monday. Toby Alderweireld, Danny Rose, Wanyama and Lamela all returned in place of Mousa Dembele, Eric Dier, Ben Davies and Heung-Min Son. Dembele (minor ankle) and Serge Aurier (minor hamstring) were ruled out by injury. Jan Vertonghen made his 250th appearance for us.

Below: Christian Eriksen takes on Jay Rodriguez.

Key action

Saves: Foster denies Wanyama and Kane - 0-30mins

We dominated from first whistle as the home side were happy to sit in and concede possession. That meant chances were at a premium. Kane didn't connect from the old 'Sheringham/Anderton' corner routine driven low to the near post and the first serious effort came from Wanyama on 24 minutes, his curler from 25 yards looked destined for the top corner until Foster reached to tip over. Foster was there again on the half-hour when Kieran Trippier found Kane at the right angle, the goalkeeper out quickly to deflect the striker's effort wide.

Chances: West Brom threaten from set-pieces - 31-45mins 
The home side barely enterd our half in the first half but set-pieces were always a danger. Jay Rodriguez latched onto a deep free-kick from Chris Brunt on 41 minutes and squared across goal, Alderweireld there to head away. The Baggies' only serious chance arrived just before the break when Ahmed Hegazi met Matt Phillips' corner but glanced his header wide. Rose then set up Lamela but his shot was blocked by Craig Dawson.

Chances still at a premium - 46-66mins 
We finally managed to open up the home team's massed ranks eight minutes into the second half with a flowing move through Kane, Eriksen and Vertonghen breaking forward. Vertonghen clipped to Dele, he cushioned a volleyed pass in to Lamela but the Argentine let the ball run away on his first touch and Foster was able to collect. Hegazi volleyed wide as West Brom kept another free-kick alive and Foster parried away Eriksen's free-kick from 30 yards. Dele then dragged wide from the edge of the box.

Save: Lloris keeps out Kane own goal - 74mins 
Another set-piece, this time flicked on at the edge of the box, found Kane slicing his attempted clearance back towards our goal - thankfully Lloris was alive and flicked the ball over. Again, West Brom caused problems via a set-piece when Daniel Sturridge flicked on Phillips' corner and Grzegorz Krychowiak fired over.

Goal: West Brom 1-0 Spurs - Livermore - 90+2mins 
West Brom's only threat came via set-pieces and they made it count in added time. Phillips swung over another corner, Dawson powered down a header, Brunt followed up and Livermore got the final touch over the line. We threw everything at the home side in the final seconds. Foster clawed away Llorente's header from Rose's cross and Wanyama fired into the side netting from Eriksen's deep corner.

Mauricio Pochettino said

"I'm disappointed with the result. We dominated, we had a lot of chances but if you don't score and you are not clinical in front of goal then a team like West Brom can create some chances from set-pieces and you can concede. I think it's a little cruel but in the end our performance wasn't enough. We lost and we cannot change the result now. We need to be sure to win our next two games."

Erik Lamela said

"It was a difficult afternoon. I don't know what to say because we came here to win the game, unfortunately we lost to a goal at the end. We tried today to put all the effort into winning the game, they just defended all the time and it was so difficult to score a goal because they were so close at the back. We tried many times to score but we knew that if we don't open the game, at the end it's more difficult because they believed when the game was ending. I go home angry because I expected to win the game."

Match data

West Brom (4-4-1-1): Foster, Nyom, Dawson, Hegazi, Gibbs, Brunt (c), Livermore, McClean (Krychowiak 87), Phillips, Rodriguez (Chadli 79), Rondon (Sturridge 74). Substitutes (not used): Myhill, Evans, Yacob, Robson-Kanu.

Spurs (3-4-2-1): Lloris (c), Alderweireld, Sanchez, Vertonghen (Llorente 85), Trippier, Eriksen, Wanyama, Rose, Dele (Son 67), Lamela (Lucas 78), Kane. Substitutes (not used): Vorm, Davies, Dier, Sissoko.

Goal: West Brom - Livermore 90+2.

Yellow cards: West Brom - Hegazi 61, Nyom 65, McClean 79, Brunt 82; Spurs - Rose 65.

Referee: Michael Jones.

Attendance: 23,685.

Up next

We go back to Wembley for our final two matches of the season - Newcastle on Wednesday (8pm) and Leicester City on Sunday (3pm).