Tottenham avoided back-to-back defeats in the Women's Super League with a hard-fought 2-1 victory over 11th-placed West Ham at Chigwell Construction Stadium.

The hosts took the lead against the run of play, with forward Shekiera Martinez tapping in from close range to finish off a fluid counter-attacking move kickstarted by Viviane Asseyi.

Asseyi, who was making her 100th appearance for the club, skipped past Tottenham defender Josefine Rybrink before finding team-mate Leila Wandeler, who delivered the ball on a plate with a low cross to Martinez at the back post.

West Ham went close again, with Wandeler fizzing in another dangerous ball and Asseyi directing a shot towards goal, forcing Lize Kop to make a point-blank save and Toko Koga to make a clearance off the line.

The hosts were happy to sit deep and defend from the start, opting to pick and choose their moments to attack Tottenham's high defensive line, but that invited pressure from the visitors.

However, Martin Ho's side posed little danger in the first 45 minutes. They had 69% possession and managed 12 shots, but none of them found the target.

The second half was a different story for Tottenham, though, with Matilda Vinberg netting a long-range effort from 25 yards into the top right corner to level things up.

It was the Sweden international's first league goal of the season, after returning to Ho's starting line-up following a 2-0 defeat by bottom side Liverpool last weekend.

Tottenham took the lead when Olivia Holdt reacted quickest to a loose ball and fired in a screamer from just outside the box.

The winner stemmed from a mistake by West Ham's new signing Tuva Hansen, who was put under pressure on her debut by Amanda Nilden and misplaced a pass straight to Holdt.

Tottenham midfielder Drew Spence was shown a red card in stoppage time for a high studs-up challenge on Riko Ueki.

Victory maintains Tottenham's push for a top-four spot, while West Ham remain one point above bottom side Liverpool following their 3-1 defeat by Manchester United.

After dropping points to Liverpool last weekend, Ho's eyes would have lit up at this fixture.

West Ham have struggled all season - they have now claimed only two wins and two draws from 14 games - so this was the perfect opportunity for Spurs to get back to winning ways.

It did not look like they were going to take it in the first half, though, after failing to see any pay-off from their 29 touches in the opposition box.

West Ham were compact and organised in defence and it was up to Ho's side to break down their low block.

New Year's Day signing Signe Gaupset and captain Bethany England were the liveliest in attack throughout, but it was Vinberg and Holdt who stole the headlines with two stunning long-range efforts.

While Vinberg curled in her first league goal of the season, Holdt tried to go one better with a rifled goal from 22 yards out for her fourth league goal this term.

"Matilda deserves that," said Ho. "She works hard every week and sometimes doesn't do that. I am encouraging her to shoot more.

"I know what Olivia can do. When the ball drops to people of her quality, they can take advantage."

Tottenham did make things harder than they needed for the second week in a row, but their inspired comeback could not be faulted.

They are now level on points with fourth-placed Arsenal, keeping alive their prospects of securing European football for the first time.

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