West Ham United scored three times in 15 second-half minutes to earn a 3-2 comeback win against London rivals Tottenham Hotspur in the EFL Cup fourth round on Wednesday night.
The Hammers looked down and out when two goals behind on enemy territory following a disappointing first-half showing, but Andre Ayew scored twice and Angelo Ogbonna completed the turnaround to send the visitors through to the quarter-finals.
Spurs, on the other hand, will rue their failure to see things through when looking so comfortable at one stage, as their six-match unbeaten run at Wembley Stadium came to the most disappointing of ends.
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Spurs got off the mark with six minutes on the clock as Moussa Sissoko kept his cool to calmly slot the ball past Adrian after being played through by Son Heung-min.
The home side showed seven changes from their last match, compared to nine alterations made by West Ham, and it told at times as both sides struggled to find any real rhythm to their game in the first half.
Despite being in second gear Tottenham should have had a second a quarter of the way through when Alli peeled away at the back post and sent a header on target for Adrian to palm away.
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Alli, the matchwinner in the last round against Barnsley, did not need a second invitation as he found the net from his next attempt seven minutes before the half-time interval.
The England international curled the ball towards the bottom corner following a nice passing move, finding his intended spot via a telling touch off the head of Declan Rice.
West Ham's only serious shot of the opening 45 minutes came via returning skipper Mark Noble, who was unable to get the better of Michel Vorm - also wearing the captain's armband for the first time - down low.
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United did have a route back into the match from the first attacking move of the second half, though, with Vorm parrying Edmilson Fernandes's bullet strike into the path of Ayew, who was given the simple task of tapping in when played onside by Ben Davies.
Ayew almost had a quickfire second, only to be beaten to Aaron Cresswell's cross by Vorm, but the Ghana international did not have to wait long for his second.
Spurs again looked shaky at the back and, after the ball fell nicely into the path of Manuel Lanzini, it was worked across goal for Ayew to apply the finish touching from a few yards out.
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All the Hammers' hard work was almost undone moments later after Alli was again picked out in space inside the box, seeing his latest attempt - a firm volley from eight yards - kept out by Adrian.
The comeback was complete 70 minutes in, however, as Ogbonna timed his run to perfection to glance Lanzini's corner across Vorm and into the far corner of the net.
Tottenham had just one real chance to rescue the tie, falling the way of Sissoko who could not get the better of Adrian 15 minutes from time, giving visiting boss Slaven Bilic a welcome respite in a huge week for both him and his club.
Daniel Lewis
