Our fourth match this season against the blue side of Liverpool has given me some perspective. We are all bitterly disappointed that our superb first half of the season has given way to this….this…..mess. But imagine being an Everton supporter. Last year, after dominating Arsenal at Goodison Park late in the season the Toffees were oh so close to a top four finish. They had the current flavor of the month manager in charge, and their only worry over him was whether or not he’d leave for Real Madrid or Barcelona one day. Fast forward to this season, and as bad as we’ve been of late were still behind us before today. Relegation was an actual thing to wonder about if early season form continued. Martinez job was in question. As our season faded and died, their fortunes started to rise. And without a defeat to West Ham in the Premier League since 2007, Lukaku always finding the net, and West Ham scoring only 5 goals in their last ten games the odds were against us reversing the trends. We didn’t disappoint the bookies on any level.
The starting lineups were notable on a few levels. Winston Reid returned at the expense of Reece Burke, and Alex Song returned with Kevin Nolan missing due to personal reasons. One of the most angry people I know on Twitter made a not so angry point that I found interesting. He thought the reason for Song’s dip in form is Nolan’s and Noble’s lack of pace and Song’s need to cover for them. Food for thought when slating the Barcelona refugee.
The opening ten minutes showed why Everton love to play us. In the 5th minute Barkley and Osman combined at the top of the West Ham area, with their interplay ending in a low shot by Osman that was goal bound before Adrian dove to his left to steer the ball out for a corner. On the ensuing set piece, the ball came to Lukaku right in front of Adrian. But in a moment that is as likely as the sun rising in the west he completely flubbed his shot. West Ham couldn’t clear and ball ended up on the foot of Stones but his shot went wide.
West Ham had their first attempt on goal in the 12th minute when Cresswell got the ball on the left. In a position where he usually sends a cross into the box, Cresswell had plenty of space in front of him and chose to run at Howard and fire. Howard fumbled the shot out for a corner. West Ham got a second corner moments later but both set pieces ended the same way. With a whimper.
In the 14th minute Cresswell again found himself open on the left. As he broke towards the box he attempted to send a cross into the box. The ball went off Coleman for a corner, but Cresswell and others screamed for a penalty. Replays showed that Coleman had his hands in front of him and made no attempt to get them out of the way. Referee Kevin Friend’s take on the play was that Coleman was too close to Cresswell and couldn’t get out of the way. He was wrong.
Minutes later, James Collins came off clutching his left hamstring and was replaced by Reece Burke.
Any time Enner Valencia is open enough to take a shot, my mind drifts back to his thunderbolt at Hull. It’s not a matter of if he will ever do that again, but when. In the 18th minute, Valencia got the ball 25 yards out with a large patch of green in front of him. He let loose a cannon of a shot, but right at Tim Howard who was able to palm it away. Ten minutes later, Valencia was again involved when he teed up Noble, but his low shot went wide.
In the 30th minute, Noble lost possession in a dangerous area. That allowed Lennon to sprint forward and feed Lukaku in the box, but his shot went high over the bar. A few minutes later, West Ham responded when Downing got the ball, ran down the middle at the heart of the Everton defense, and fired a low shot that Howard punched out. I wondered if Sam had a flashback to the start of the season when he saw Downing in the middle of the pitch. “Maybe that’s a good idea?”
Halftime. West Ham 0, Everton 0.
The visitors began the second half on the front foot. In the 48th minute, Lukaku picked up the ball with his back to goal and laid it off for Barkley. But Barkley’s shot from the edge of the penalty area went high over the bar. Two minutes later, Everton were awarded a free kick after Reid brought down Lukaku from behind. Lukaku stepped up and fired a terrific curling free kick that went an inch or so wide of the far post.
West Ham came back and enjoyed a good spell of possession. Downing, Jenkinson, Song and Noble all worked the ball around the Everton box. But each time it looked like a something might happen, a bad touch or errant pass brought the attack to a screeching halt. Then, in the 62nd minute, after a throw in by Jenkinson, West Ham put the passes together with purpose. Downing fed Song, who then passed back to Downing as he broke into the area. Downing’s curling left foot shot beat Howard and rolled into the back of the net.
West Ham 1, Everton 0.
Mark Noble has been a faithful servant to the club. But his lack of pace and creativity in the center of the pitch is something we need to improve on. That was clear as day a few minutes later. After a McCarthy cross was intercepted by Adrian, West Ham broke. Valencia teed up Downing, sending him behind the Everton defense and possibly in alone on Howard. But Downing’s first touch wasn’t his best, and he turned the ball back to Noble. From that moment on, West Ham lost all momentum and Everton regained possession and countered. Lukaku received the ball on the right side of the West Ham area and sent a cross into Osman, who flicked the ball up before slamming home a volley to equalize.
West Ham 1, Everton 1.
A minute later, two things happened. First, Everton came close to going in front when Coleman fed Barkley in the box. He was wide open with tons of time, but he rushed his shot and it went high over the bar. Second, Upton Park said goodbye to one of its own. Carlton Cole came off for Nene, which is something I would have liked to see from the start of the game. But the sentimental side of me was happy to see Cole get a final run out on his home turf.
The next ten minutes were pure end to end stuff. The midfield for either team could have gone for tea and it wouldn’t have made much of a difference. Yet neither team could find any quality in the final third. Song, of all people, sent a header over the bar. Nene had another one of those different wavelength moments when he sent a pass down the right for Jenkinson that only Nene knew he could do, so Jenkinson didn’t make the run. Nene also took a free kick after Barry fouled Song but his curling effort curled out of play for a goal kick.
If Lukaku were a pro wrestler, his name would be The Belgian Hammer Killer. Because that’s what he does. Admit it. You actually expected him to score. He almost did in the 89th minute when Everton broke on a quick counter after a wasted West Ham corner. Lukaku fired a blast from the left that Adrian put out for the first of two corners. Then bad clearance came to McGeady who sent a low pass to Lukaku but his tap in attempt went wide. That setup came so close to working that in the final minute of added on time they tried it again. Only this time it worked. McGeady sent a cross into the box, The Belgian Hammer Killer beat Burke to his left and headed the ball past a helpless Adrian.
Final Score. West Ham 1, Everton 2.
I thought about doing a cheeky story within a story about the Fair Play league and yellow cards. That competition of sorts did go in our favor. But after another late equalizer conceded, I’m not in a cheeky mood. West Ham played a little better at times than they have recently. Song played his best game in months, but he really is asked to do the job of at least two guys. Downing looked more effective because at times he was allowed to work in his most effective position. But if you watched the whole game with the goals edited out, you’d be spot on to think Everton were the better side. We are now in 11th place, we have a negative goal differential, and the 50 point target that should have been reached weeks ago with ease is unlikely going into the game next week at Newcastle when the hosts need a draw to likely stay up.
History does have a way of repeating itself, doesn’t it?