Everton 2-2 West Ham

A last gasp equaliser from Marouane Fellaini in the dying seconds rescued Everton from succumbing to a dismal league defeat.

David Moyes went for the same team that earned the same result at Anfield last week as the Blues aimed to move clear of the relegation zone. However, the abject performance in the final third will leave Evertonians worrying about the immediate future and whether a true relegation battle is in the offing.

The first half saw Everton dominate large sessions of possession without any real movement up front to penetrate the opposition defence. An early Jermain Beckford chance was the closest the Toffees came to a breakthrough before West Ham caught the Blues with a sucker punch.

26 minutes in, Boa Morte found a yard on the right, cut the ball back across the box for Jonathan Spector to smash home from just inside the area.

West Ham threatened all afternoon on the break with the excellent Frederic Piquionne leading the Hammers front line, and it was Piquionne who nearly made it two moments later as the Frenchman shrugged off Heitinga, connected with a stooping header that beat Howard low to his right, but mercifully came off the base of the post and rolled across the goalline.

Boa Morte thought he had added West Ham´s second before half time, but he was rightfully ruled out for offside as David Moyes faced a barrage of boos from disaffected Evertonians at the break.

Saha came on for Beckford at half time, but Everton still failed to make a dent in an organised West Ham defence. Spector almost grabbed his second on the hour mark, but Sylvain Distin did enough to force a wild shot over the bar.

Just as it looked like West Ham would hold Everton at bay, David Moyes bowed to pressure and introduced fan favourite Bilyaletdinov with 20 minutes to go, and just eight minutes later the Russian winger grabbed the equaliser.

Marouane Fellaini, Everton´s best player by a distance, knocked down for Bilyaletdinov, who controlled a lovely right footed volley to beat Green to his left post.

Everton pressed for a winner, with Seamus Coleman going close with a fizzed left footed effort, but it was Frederic Piquionne who put West Ham back in the lead with only five minutes remaining with a deft close range finish.

However, the Frenchman was given his second yellow card for his celebration, reducing the Hammers to 10 men.

Just as hope was fading, Everton grabbed a last gasp equaliser. Marouane Fellaini shrugged off Spector inside the box and struck a low effort across ´keeper Rob Green to secure a point for Everton in injury time.

A poor performance, and eventually Evertonians have to be grateful for the point – but without strengthening in this transfer window, relegation remains a real prospect for the blues.

MAN OF THE MATCH: Marouane FELLAINI – With Sylvain Distin, the only player to perform anywhere near their best, with a composed performance in the middle of the park and a crucial assist and goal.