Everton vs West Ham match report: Hammers fight back from two goals down to beat 10-men Toffees
Everton 2 West Ham United 3
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Your support makes all the difference.West Ham hopes of a Champions League campaign in their inaugural season at the Olympic Stadium received a boost in the unlikeliest of places yesterday.
The Londoners had not won at Goodison Park in 10 years and a familiar tale looked to be unfolding when, with 10-man Everton two goals ahead, Romelu Lukaku stepped up to the penalty spot. The Belgian had already got his customary goal against the Hammers – eight in eight games as an Evertonian – but his tame effort was saved easily by Adrian. It proved the cue for a stunning fightback that lifted West Ham to fifth place, a point behind Manchester City.
Michail Antonio began the recovery after 78 minutes by nodding in Mark Noble’s pull back. It was soon 2-2 as Diafra Sakho nodded in Dmitri Payet’s cross and the gifted Frenchman (near right) got the late winner by tucking the ball past Joel Robles after Andy Carroll flicked a Ryan Cresswell cross into the danger zone.
Slaven Bilic, once an Everton player, ran down the tunnel in celebration. He has now won at both Merseyside grounds as West Ham manager. “I am very pleased to get three points at this stadium where we don’t have any record,” he said. “To do it like this is unbelievable so I have to praise our players.
“If they had scored the penalty they could have won three or four-nil. Nobody can deny we didn’t deserve it.”
For Everton, this felt like the story of their season: three times they have tossed away two-goal leads and on each occasion they have been undone by crosses. It was their seventh home loss and Roberto Martinez’s decision to replace the excellent Aaron Lennon with the ineffectual Oumar Niasse minutes before the comeback backfired badly. The Spaniard cited Lukaku’s penalty miss as “a big blow psychologically.”
Everton had deserved the goals they got either side of Kevin Mirallas’s second yellow card for a challenge on Cresswell. Lukaku arrowed home an early goal after outmuscling Reece Oxford and Lennon hit a fine second after bursting clear on a one-two with Lukaku. Yet their soft centre was exposed once more.
Everton: (3-4-3) Robles; Stones (Besic, h-t), Funes Mori, Jagielka; Coleman, McCarthy, Barkley, Oviedo; Lennon (Niasse, 76), Lukaku (Barry, 89), Mirallas.
West Ham United: (3-4-2-1) Adrian; Kouyate, Oxford (Carroll, h-t), Ogbonna; Antonio, Noble, Obiang (Song, 61), Cresswell; Lanzini, Payet; Emenike (Sakho, 60)
Referee: Anthony Taylor
Man of the match: Payet (West Ham United)
Match rating: 8/10
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