He spoke about their incredible visit to Tottenham Hotspur in 2019, which was also a London derby.
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West Ham United goalkeeper Lukasz Fabianski took a walk down memory lane, as he recalled a memorable game with the Hammers. He spoke about their incredible visit to Tottenham Hotspur in 2019, which was also a London derby. What made the away win special was the fact that West Ham had gone to play at Spurs’ new home ground – Tottenham Hotspur Stadium – just shortly after it was opened. With the home crowd buzzing at their new stadium, it was never going to be easy for any side to play there.
Despite the difficulty level attached to that Premier League contest, West Ham United produced a stellar performance away to Tottenham Hotspur. Recalling the game, Lukasz Fabianski told the Official Matchday programme, “I can remember being excited about going there and playing in a new stadium. Obviously, Spurs are a local derby too and you know it’s always going to be a difficult game when you go up to north London. Before the game, you are thinking to yourself how good it would be to go over to the new stadium and be the first team to get a win there.”
He further added: “From my standpoint, too, you want to be the first away goalkeeper to keep a clean-sheet at the stadium as well if you can. We knew it would be a challenge though and, before the game, we were working hard on everything from a performance point-of-view. I can remember the atmosphere in our group before that game was really good.”
Having played for Arsenal, Fabianski knows the importance of contests against Tottenham, especially in derby clashes. “As a player, you want to focus on the performance and the things you can control. That being said, we know what these games mean to the fans, and we want to make our fans happy. It means that bit more to them, these matches, so you want to make sure you’re putting in a good performance and doing things properly. That’s the main thing,” he was quoted as saying by the club’s website.
Speaking about the start, “In any game, you need a solid base. It’s important to start the game in a good way, no matter who you are playing. You need to be solid at the back and make sure you don’t concede early. From there, you can try to grow into the game, see how it evolves and make chances.”
All that game needed was one decisive moment and it came from Michail Antonio in the 67th minute for West Ham United, which proved to be the winner. “I can remember Marko played a ball over for Michail and he smashed it, and he then did a very unique celebration! I know I was at the other end of the pitch but I actually had a good view of it. Declan Rice had the ball and passed it, and then Marko took possession. It was a good ball from him into Micky. I remember we had a couple of good chances before that as well,” he elaborated.
He added: “There was a moment too when Issa Diop had the ball and went on an amazing run through the Tottenham team, and went one-on-one with Hugo Lloris, which he had to save. After we scored, we defended really well. We defended well throughout the whole game but particularly after Michail scored. I feel like I was busier in the first half and had to make a few saves, but in the second half things were steadier for us. Towards the end of the game they had one good chance, and Fabian Balbuena had to clear the ball off the line. It was a really good bit of defending. It was a good game.”
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