West Ham United boss David Moyes has praised midfielder Flynn Downes despite losing 2-0 to Tottenham Hotspur on Sunday.
The Hammers really needed a result in North London after dropping into the bottom three.
However, West Ham were toothless again and fell behind as Emerson Royal put Spurs in front.
Son Heung-min added number two for Tottenham, securing all three points – and some bragging rights – for Spurs.
That win bolsters Tottenham’s hopes of a Champions League place but plunges West Ham ever closer to the drop.
Now sitting 18th in the Premier League, West Ham are just one point from safety but there is little to shout about.
Moyes did at least manage to find a positive though – the performance of midfielder Flynn Downes.
David Moyes hails West Ham United midfielder Flynn Downes
There were some raised eyebrows before kick off as Moyes released his West Ham team to face Tottenham.
Downes came into midfield after a 23-minute substitute appearances against Chelsea in West Ham’s last game.
Downes had only played 41 minutes of Premier League action before starting against Chelsea but Moyes brought him in as he played a 3-5-2 system.
The summer signing from Swansea City didn’t exactly show up strongly on the stats sheet, recording one tackle, one aerial duel and 20 passes.
Yet Moyes praised Downes after the game and told Football London that he felt the midfielder ‘did really well’ against Tottenham.
Moyes noted that Downes is useful when West Ham want to make a tactical change and he did well in the middle of the park.
“I thought Flynn did really well,” said Moyes. “He helps me in doing a little bit when I need a little bit of a tactical change and we changed a little bit tactically today for the start of the game in the hope to get through 60/70 minutes where we could have tried to go again. I thought Flynn played well,” he added.
Downes has only started four Premier League games this season and it currently seems like Moyes likes him for away games where West Ham won’t dominate the ball.
The 24-year-old will hope to kick on and nail down a regular starting place before the end of the season.
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