Happy birthday, David Moyes! The match was also a big one as it was his 750th Premier League match. The celebrations had to be put on hold as there was another important match to play. The birthday boy packed up his team for the journey to his former employer in London. A result for either team was critical with Everton pushing for a European place and West Ham trying to ensure that Tottenham stay in the final relegation spot.
Moyes did not go crazy on his birthday and shake things up at all. Michael Keane replaced Branthwaite and Thierno Barry was up top for Beto.
Nuno Espirito Santo made no changes from the side that earned a valuable point at Crystal Palace.
The bubbles were flying as the teams walked out onto the pitch. It gave me another opportunity to wonder why, “Blowing Bubbles” applies in any way to a football team. However, I digress. Stuart Attwell was the man in the middle as West Ham kicked off in the London sunshine.
It was a slow, cagey start as Everton looked to control the ball. An early foray by O’Brien set up McNeil but his shot was blocked. Mykolenko’s first long throw of the match was met by Barry but KDH couldn’t get to it. Summerville then drove a ball across to Bowen but Mykolenko blocked it.
Summerville was in full flight and was taken down by Garner near the edge of the box. A looping cross was met by Soucek but his header was well over. A quick break by KDH led to Barry attempting an overhead kick that went all wrong.
West Ham started to get on the ball and two quick corners were well defended. Another quick break for the Blues saw KDH look for Barry but his run was poorly timed. It was back and forth as Castellano drilled another ball into the Everton box but more good defending prevented a final touch. West Ham were growing in confidence.
Lots of Everton’s forward play was going through Dewsbury-Hall. Garner delivered Everton’s first corner but it led to another West Ham counter attack. Ndiaye showed some nice touches but could not find any support. It was Everton’s turn to control the play and it was only an interception from Mavrapanos to prevent Ndiaye from being one on one with the goalie.
KDH delivered another ball into the path of Barry but he was outmuscled by Disasi. Some patient buidup led to Barry striking a ball low and to the corner but Hermanson got down to it. Ndiaye was then showing more tricks as he played a nice one two with McNeil but he lost his footing to deny him a chance. Seconds later, O’Brien blocked off Summerville and received a yellow for his efforts.
Summerville laid off a ball to Bowen who took on Mykolenko and drove the ball across the six yard box but no one was there to tap it into an empty goal. One minute of extra time did nothing to break the deadlock as Attewell blew his whistle.
The second half started like the first with neither team getting on top. Summerville was again at the point of the West Ham attack. Castellanos had West Ham’s biggest chance when he chested the ball down and was caught by a charging Pickford. VAR looked at it but nothing was given. The corner was delivered by Bowen and headed into the far corner. Not the birthday present Moyes was wanting from his favourite Hammer.
West Ham had their tails up as they pushed for a second. Barry was up against Disasi and again he lost out. Garner drove to the touchline but his pass into the middle was poor. Bowen then drove into the box and went down but he had kicked Garner. Moyes was not happy with his side and prepared Tyrique George and Tim Iroegbunam. Another Everton corner from Garner was poor and moments later he took down Summerville and got a yellow card. Summerville needed treatment so Moyes made the changes with O’Brien and McNeil being withdrawn.
Disasi went down in the box and Garner had his hands on his back but he had gone down too easily. Everton were getting on the ball more. A foul on Ndiaye led to a free kick which saw Iroegbunam sky a ball into the Everton supporters. Castellanos was given a yellow for kicking the ball away. Some good pressure by Barry on Disasi forced an Everton corner. Gueye put in a lovely lob to Iroegbunam who flicked it into the box but Barry couldn’t get a solid touch on the ball.
Everton were pushing for the tying goal and when George delivered a lovely ball, it was met by Barry who headed to the ball down but Soucek was there to head it off the line and prevent the goal. West Ham were sitting back and their substitution of Castellanos for Potts was not going to help their cause. Nuno then got Callum Wilson into the match for Pablo who took almost a minute to exit the match!
Summerville was on the ball again and his ball was a good one but Wilson overran the ball and missed a glorious chance. A throw in for Everton was put into the box and a huge roar went up as Fernandes appeared to hit the ball out of play with his hand. VAR disagreed……in error. Everton did not get distracted and continued to push and when Mykolenko crossed the ball which was headed down by Tarkowski to KDH who volleyed it home to tie the game. West Ham were in the relegation places as Spurs were leading at Wolves.
Everton pushed for a winner and were buzzing around the Hammers goal. West Ham broke forward and when Diouf crossed the ball to the back post, Bowen headed it back to a marauding Callum Wilson who slammed it past Pickford. West Ham were safe again.
The chaos continued as Everton drove forward and when Tyrique George cut inside, his shot curled just wide of the far post. The eight minutes of additional time were drifting away as Carlos Alcaraz was given a yellow for another challenge on Summerville. A long ball from Pickford was fruitless and the last chance was for Pickford to drive a free kick into the box which was headed by Tarkowski but Hermanson gathered it to use up the last seconds.
Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall: Another 90 minute all action match from KDH. At the start of the match he was behind all of our attacking play. Throughout the match he was tireless in his effort as he defended resolutely when needed. His goal looked like it was going to seal a point, but that was not to be. Probably the biggest drawback for the midfielder was the lack of a target man with whom to link up.
Everton have had recent history where the end of the season relegation battle was both traumatic, but also galvanizing. This season that has been experienced by West Ham. Today, the magic of a relegation battle was on full display. The final ten minutes were chaos and in the end, Callum Wilson popped up to steal the victory and deny Everton the point that they deserved. Two weeks ago we were dreaming of a derby win and Champions League football. Today, the season seems to be fading away.
The push for Europe has never been so tight. At kickoff, there was only 4 points that separated 6th from 12th in the table. Fulham had joined the race with their victory over Villa in the early match. This left Everton starting the day in 11th. We have a week to get ready for a little match against Manchester City. Could we be the fly in the ointment that prevents a coronation?