Spurs leave door slightly ajar for West Ham after allowing Leeds to pinch a draw

Time to clear away a few clouds. Pre-match at the TH Stadium : Picture by @YTJourno

Premier League

Tottenham Hotspur (0) 1 Tel 50

Leeds United (0) 1 Calvert-Lewin 74pen

This felt like the day when the nightmare for Spurs and their fans could have been all-but laid to rest.

Having taken the lead and looking set for that all-important win, they somehow contrived to lose their way and conceded an equaliser from the penalty spot.

It has been a weird and troubled season for them - especially on home soil where they went into this one with only two wins and 10 defeats to their name in the Premier League. That record has not changed.

Avoiding relegation with a record like that almost defies belief but they have been solid enough on the road to (just) keep heads above water - or the dotted line in league table terms.

Tottenham are now two points ahead of the Hammers - effectively three because of a vastly superior goal difference - both with two to play. It means they may still need something from their final two games - at Chelsea next Tuesday and at home to Everton on the final day..

Mathys Tel's lovely curling strike after the ball broke to him on the edge of the area following a corner had looked to be setting Spurs on their way to a first home win in the league since early December against Brentford. But in the end, Tel was the one giving away the penalty from which Leeds levelled it up.

Those away wins at Wolves and Villa have totally lifted the mood and the belief in Roberto de Zerbi's methods. This is a team showing far more urgency than before. Far more energy and desire to harass opponents. But it was still not quite enough tonight.

Leeds, having secured their own safety thanks to the Hammers' defeat to Arsenal, might have been expected to be only half-baked - the extra motivation perhaps missing - but they were competitive enough and almost drew first blood when Joe Rodon's header was saved down by his near post by Antonin Kinsky.

It was a jolt that woke Spurs up and they upped their pace - Tel seeing a lot of the ball and both Richarlison (Goalkeeper save) and Pedro Porro (Blocked on the line) having efforts on goal. Joao Palhinha burst through to shoot just over from 10 yards.

They needed that goal to break the ice and it came soon after the restart, courtesy of Tel. But the winger turned from hero to villain 20 minutes later when his attempted overhead clearance saw him penalised for a raised boot into the head of Ethan Ampadu.

Referee Jarred Gillett did not award the spot kick at first but Craig Pawson on VAR prompted him to go to the screen and the outcome was inevitable. Dominic Calvert-Lewin made no mistake from 12 yards.

One of the biggest cheers of the night came with the arrival of James Maddison off the bench - having had a year out of the game with an ACL. He got a warm reception from everyone, including Leeds boss Daniel Farke, who gave him a hug.

With 13 minutes of injury time signalled, it seemed certain we would get more drama, maybe even involving Maddison.

But it was Leeds who almost stole it. Only a superb save from Kinsky - his second big one of the night - denied Sean Longstaff - the ball palmed onto the underside of the crossbar from close range.

Spurs: (4-2-3-1) Kinsky - Porro, Danso, van de Ven, Udogie (Spence 85) - Joao Palhinha, Bentancur (Bergvall 81) - Kolo Muani, Gallagher, Tel (Maddison 85) - Richarlison

Leeds: (4-3-3) Darlow - Justin, Rodon, Bijol, Struijk (Bornauw 56) - Stach, Ampadu, Tanaka (Longstaff 93) - James (Gnonto 63), Calvert-Lewin, Aaronson (Nmecha 63)