Ange Postecoglou's applause for Mathys Tel as three-month Tottenham wait finally comes to an end

Tottenham remain 16th in the Premier League table after playing out a 1-1 draw with West Ham on Sunday afternoon. It was all change for Spurs going into the London derby as made a total of eight alterations with Thursday's Bodo/Glimt Europa League semi-final in mind.

, who was one of the eight players to come in, . The Hammers were to level things up on 28 minutes as Jarrod Bowen made a smart run into the penalty box before squeezing the ball between Guglielmo Vicario's legs at his near post.

Spurs did have a good opening to retake the lead shortly before half-time but Richarlison elected to try and square the ball to Odobert instead of shooting after some fine play from Tel. Tel had a chance for himself shortly after the restart but he could only shoot straight at Alphonse Areola after linking up well with Pape Matar Sarr.

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Guglielmo Vicario was then needed in the closing stages as he stopped Bowen netting a winner with a flicked header from James Ward-Prowse's free-kick. Here are five things we spotted in the game at the London Stadium:

Taking no chances

Postecoglou was certainly taking no chances with his first-choice Tottenham players ahead of Thursday's Europa League semi-final second leg tie away at Bodo/Glimt. Fresh from the 3-1 win over the Norwegian side three days ago, the head coach made eight changes to his XI as only Vicario, Yves Bissouma and Richarlison remained from the other night.

That meant he rested his back four of Pedro Porro, Cristian Romero, Micky van de Ven and Destiny Udogie, with Rodrigo Bentancur and Brennan Johnson also dropping down to the bench. and were the other two from the midweek victory to miss out, although their absence across the capital was due to injury.

Postecoglou admitted on Friday that . Maddison, on the other hand, was "more of a concern" and that they were waiting for the outcome of a scan on a knee issue.

As expected, Postecoglou didn't take any unnecessary risks with the duo and they will be wrapped up in cotton wool over the next few days until the decisive second leg in Norway.

Where's Timo?

As a result of Maddison and Solanke's absence, Tottenham youngster Damola Ajayi was named in a Premier League squad for the first time since Brentford away at the beginning of February. The 19-year-old came to the attention of everyone in January following his debut goal against Elfsborg in the Europa League but he has failed to feature for Postecoglou's side since then.

Ajayi was named on the bench ahead of fellow youngster Dane Scarlett and also . The German's season-long loan spell has not gone to plan at all and he has only featured once since returning from injury in February.

Werner, who was cut from Tottenham's Europa League squad before the knockout phase, . It really is a sad way to end his time at the club.

Gray change

, Archie Gray was once again named in the Tottenham XI by Postecoglou. This time, however, he wasn't in midfield amid his struggles at Anfield.

Instead, he reverted to right-back after taking the place of Porro in the back four. He certainly looked more at home in the position, although last weekend's opponents need to be taken into consideration, but that is perhaps no surprise given the amount of Premier League football he has played in defence compared to midfield.

Tottenham fans want to see more of Gray in midfield and that will undoubtedly come in time. For now, he may have to contend with a defensive position until he is given a consistent run in the middle of the park.

Tel time

certainly made a case for a starting spot in Thursday's Europa League semi-final against Bodo/Glimt. The Frenchman was perhaps unlucky not to start in the first meeting between the sides but he did come on at half-time in place of Richarlison.

Operating from the left flank once again, the loanee had a big say on the game 15 minutes in as Spurs took the lead in east London. His hard work to put Max Kilman under pressure saw him win possession of the ball and he duly put it across the penalty box for fellow countryman Odobert to finish off.

Goals and assists may not have flowed as much as Tel would have like since joining from Bayern Munich but what has been noticeable is his work rate and desire to make an impact. That was evident midway through the first half as he forced Aaron Wan-Bissaka out of play following some excellent tracking back after the full-back had got the better of Djed Spence.

Postecoglou certainly appreciated the piece of play from Tel and gave him a round of applause from the sidelines for his efforts.

Moore returns

Plenty of Tottenham fans have questioned lack of minutes in recent weeks. The teenager has been a regular on the bench in the Europa League but he has found himself in and out of the Premier League squad with virtually all of Postecoglou's attacking options available.

Last taking to the pitch for the first team in the FA Cup defeat away at Aston Villa in early February, the lesser-spotted Moore was finally involved in a first-team match again as he entered the fray midway through the second half at West Ham. After his previous appearance almost three months ago, the academy ace was keen to make an immediate impact and he helped draw a foul from Lucas Paqueta that resulted in a yellow card not long after his introduction.

Hopefully more minutes will come his way in the run-in.

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