HAMMERS boss Gianfranco Zola insists his side were unlucky not to have come away from White Hart Lane with at least a point after seeing his players 'stand up' to their fierce rivals.

West Ham more than held their own, despite a severely depleted squad, but it was a second half Roman Pavlyuchenko goal that ensured Spurs closed the gap on the Irons to three points.

Zola rued the missed opportunities that cost his team what would have been a valuable point, with David Di Michele the chief culprit, as the Italian forward spurned the chance to put his side in front, fluffing his shot when through on goal, after Jonathan Woodgate had mistimed his header.

“We had chances, to be honest, but we just missed them, but on the other end they scored with theirs. Pavlyuchenko is very good, he scored a very good goal and that was the difference,” said Zola.

“Other than that I can’t say anything against the team. They played very well, they stood up against a Tottenham side that on paper, in my opinion, is one of the top six sides in this country.

We stood up against them and played without fear. It could easily a point for us.

“When Di Michele went through I thought this is the moment. But he has been very unlucky. He is playing very well. For the team he is fantastic and he is probably one of the most important players for us right now, but he is never lucky in front of the goal.

“I said to the players if you play like this, considering all the other circumstances, we can’t really tell you anything.”