Everton 2-0 West Ham United: Premier League – as it happened via The Guardian
A superb performance from Ross Barkley, who made one and scored one, gave Everton a severely needed first win in six; West Ham, who played well in patches, remain close to the relegation zone
3.47pm GMT
Your match report.
Related:
Romelu Lukaku and Ross Barkley get Everton back on track against West Ham
3.27pm GMT
So, thanks all for your comments and company – now
join Rob Smyth for Southampton-Chelsea. It’s liiiiive!
3.25pm GMT
West Ham will play worse than that and win; Everton are on the way back.
Most likely, the “story” will be Ross Barkley, and in a way that’s fair – he made one, scored one and was the game’s outstanding player. But, on the other hand, we learnt nothing because we already knew just how good he was.
3.23pm GMT
That was an exceedingly enjoyable game.
3.22pm GMT
90+4 min Gueye rams a ball into Lukaku and keeps going, running onto the flicked return before Ogbonna runs across him. No penalty, apparently.
3.21pm GMT
90+2 min Lukaku, on the right edge of the box, draws Ogbonna and Kouyate, and then, resisting the urge to try a bender into the far corner, slips a reverse-ball into the path of Cleverley. But Adrian stands up well and repels his shot from close range but a narrow angle.
3.20pm GMT
90+2 min West Ham are doing their best to pretend it’s not over, but they know it’s over, passing sideways before running into Aaron Lennon of all people.
3.18pm GMT
90+1 min There shall be four added minutes, as we learn that Ross Barkley is man-of-the-match.
3.17pm GMT
90 min Antonio has had enough, and barges into Barry. He’s booked, but my guess is it was worth the £!7 or whatever it is.
3.17pm GMT
89 min Lovely from Everton, who counter quickly with Lukaku, out on the right, who flicks inside to Coleman who flicks back outside to Cleverley. The cross is low and cut back, meeting Lukaku’s run, but Adrian beats his shot away.
3.16pm GMT
87 min And there it is: Lennon replaces Barkley, who’s rather closer to the touchline that is optimal.
3.14pm GMT
87 min I wonder if Koeman might take Barkley off in a second, so he can take some acclaim – he’s earned it.
3.13pm GMT
86 min Motions are gone through.
3.13pm GMT
85 min Looking at that second goal again, perhaps Lukaku was a touch offside when taking Barkley’s pass. But I undersold how good his cross was – he waited on the by-line, switched onto his left foot, and lofted a pass to meet his man’s stride.
3.11pm GMT
84 min Change for Everton: Jagielka replaces Bolasie.
3.10pm GMT
82 min Barkley bustles over halfway again, finding Lukaku, who runs into trouble.
3.08pm GMT
80 min I wonder if Bilic might have sent Zaza on earlier, to give his team some presence in the box. But the truth is that Barkley has been the best player on the pitch, and that’s a significant reason why his team are going to win.
3.07pm GMT
78 min West Ham bring off Lanzini, sending on Feghouli.
3.06pm GMT
77 min Can Everton mess this up from here? Surely not.
3.06pm GMT
ROSS BARKLEY! ROSS BARKLEY! ROSS BARKLEY! ROSS BARKLEY! ROSS BARKLEY! ROSS BARKLEY! ROSS BARKLEY! ROSS BARKLEY! ROSS BARKLEY! He turns beautifully on halfway, diddling Ayew and Lanzini in one. Then he lofts a pass out to Lukaku on the right and makes for the back post, despatching a difficult half-volley with mortifying ease to settle the game. Can’t believe how bad his decision-making is; it’s really great having unpredictable players, and it’s really annoying when you can’t always predict them.
3.04pm GMT
76 min “I see West Ham have elected to play with ten men, by bringing Zaza on,” b’dum-tishes Iam Orme.
I think he might be better than that penalty, not that anything is actually
better than that penalty.
3.03pm GMT
75 min Fifteen minutes is along time for Everton to hold out, given the flow of things.
3.02pm GMT
74 min Antonio, now on the right, canes it at Oveido who can only trip him. He’s booked.
3.01pm GMT
73 min Perhaps Cleverley will give Everton some calmness in possession, because currently they’re running to hither and yon but getting naewhere.
2.59pm GMT
72 min West Ham replace Fernandes with Zaza, Everton replace Mirallas with Cleverley.
2.58pm GMT
70 min And they almost do again! Lanzini feeds a ball across the face of the box from its left corner, finding Noble in the centre. But Joel is moving almost before he shoots, pawing away the rising curler from close to the far top corner.
2.57pm GMT
68 min Everton need to do something here, because West Ham are going to score. And they almost do! Noble threads a pass into the path of Lanzini, who slides a similar one into the box, for Ayew to run into – marking him, Funes Mori was on a boat on a river, with tangerine trees and marmalade skies. But as the shot came in, Oviedo races over to slide in and block at source. Superb defending.
2.56pm GMT
67 min Reid is booked for handball an misses West Ham’s next game. Sensible behaviour.
2.55pm GMT
66 min Gueye lays back to Williams, who slips, and Antonio is in, bullocking down the left. But Williams does brilliantly to get back, inserting his body between man and ball, only to dawdle and be robbed a second time. Antonio breaks into the box, opens his body and draws Robles, who narrows the angle well, blocking the show away. Williams is a lucky boy.
2.53pm GMT
65 min The ref pauses as Ogbonna is involved in some argy-bargy, and then Lukaku is fouled defending the corner.
2.52pm GMT
63 min Gueye chucks his body in front of – and into – Ayew, handing West Ham a free-kick. It’s wide on the right, 25 yards out, and Payet paces his run – he might be the best in the world from this position. But Barry is well-placed at the near post heading behind.
2.50pm GMT
62 min A lull. West Ham appear to be gathering, Everton consolidating.
2.48pm GMT
60 min Ayew replaces Obiang.
2.48pm GMT
59 min The angle suits Cresswell, but as if Payet’s stepping aside. He fires into the wall but Everton can’t quite get it away, eventually ceding a corner – Bolasie is fouled as it comes across.
2.46pm GMT
58 min West Ham come back, Antonio over-running the ball on the edge of the Everton box, which gives him the space to beat Barry with a drag-back. So Oviedo comes over and chops him down; free-kick, right of centre, 20 yards out…
2.45pm GMT
56 min Barkley is on one here, and what a thrill it is to see. I have literally no idea why people can’t be arsed enjoying him for what he is, rather than bitching about what he isn’t -plenty time for him to sort the rest and even if he doesn’t, so much of what’s so god about football coalesces in his game. Anyway, Mirallas, in off the left, nips a pass into him which he accepts on the half-turn, opening the angle for a curler, planted over the bar.
2.43pm GMT
55 min “Teams like to play with false 9s nowadays,” emails Yoann Lechenault, “but the only piece missing for this West Ham is Carroll. If he could stay fit, they could have a good season. They’ve got the players on the wings to do the job, what they need is someone in the box to finish it.”
For sure he’d improve this team, though it might be harder to sneak him in when Ayew’s fit.
2.42pm GMT
54 min Barkley takes the ball off Williams and crosses the halfway line, shucking off Obiang with that absurd feint and frame, so is bodychecked. Ogiang is booked.
2.41pm GMT
52 min Touch of Giggs in that Bolasie assist.
2.40pm GMT
Barkley pounces on a tame clearance, right of centre, checks, checks his options, and rolls into the path of Coleman outside him. The pass is a little short though, so yerman comes inside and smacks a low left-footer towards the near post that Adrian pushes away when he should push behind. Still, though, the danger appears averted until Bolasie appears out of nowhere and i a single movement slides in on Reid and crosses, setting up Lukaku for an open goal, and he nods home from two yards. Brilliant from Bolasie.
2.36pm GMT
48 min Payet loses possession then steps in front of Funes Mori for no reason. He does well to avoid a booking.
2.35pm GMT
46 min Antonio rumbles around the outside of Funes Mori – he’s stronger and faster, but runs out of pitch, so has to check, buffet six or seven more defenders, and wins a corner. Obiang is first to i, crouching at the near post to win the header and Bolasie knocks it behind, but the ref gives a goalkick.
2.33pm GMT
46 min We go again, again.
2.32pm GMT
Back come the players – though it’s worth noting that Andre Ayew was on the pitch warming up during half-time.
2.23pm GMT
Half-time email: “Having, as I do, both Lukaku and Bolasie in my fantasy team I’m rooting for the Merseysiders today,” says Matt Loten. “However, I can’t be the only one who would quite like to see this West Ham team regain the swagger of last season, can I? I’ve never been the biggest West Ham fan, given the self-important nature of a few of their fans (If I hear ‘we won the World Cup’ one more time…), yet its a shame to see the undeniable talents of Payet, Lanzini, Noble, Zaza, Carroll and Sakho looking so subdued or underutilised. Where has the Bilic magic gone?”
Harsh, I’d say. The club are just getting over the upheaval of moving grounds, while his best players weren’t fit at the start of the season. They’re already improving, and will continue to over the next month.
2.19pm GMT
That was very enjoyable indeed. Everton started the better before the confidence of West Ham took over, Lanzini and Payet’s movement causing all manner of bother. But then Everton stepped things up, allowing less time on the ball, and they dominated the last 15 minutes. The second half should, in theory, be a good one.
2.18pm GMT
45+1 min Barkley bursts through
his shirt
the middle, and for a second appears to have options either side, but West Ham converge on him very well and Reid crowds him out.
2.17pm GMT
45 min There shall be “a minimum of” one added minute.
2.16pm GMT
45 min Boalsie stands Noble up, makes it clear what he’s going to do, then does it, skirting around his outside before firing in a cross. It’s too close to Adrian, but the fact remains, Noble has done more or less nothing so far.
2.14pm GMT
42 min It’s a while since West Ham threatened, which is not entirely surprising – they’re still well equipped to win the game, but if a midfield with more men plays well, it’s hard to control tit.
2.12pm GMT
40 min I wonder if Manuel Lanzini’s ancestors liked Neighbours. That’s one for the connoisseurs.
2.10pm GMT
38 min The first goal will be crucial here, he insighted, but even more so than usual. Both sides have excellent attackers, neither side looks secure at the back, and both also have confidence issues. Everton win another corner down the right and Funes Mori is first to it, the ball skidding off his head and wide.
2.08pm GMT
37 min Everton in command now, Bolasie moving infield and causing confusion. The ball ends up with Mirallas, and his cross is so bad that Adrian has to touch it over the top from under the bar. The corner comes to nowt.
2.07pm GMT
35 min Everton win a corner down the right and it ends up with Mirallas again, a touch from a defender taking it away from Funes Mori – but only just. Eventually, Barkley shoots from outside the box, the ensuing block forcing another, from which nothing of note happens.
2.05pm GMT
33 min Payet slams his kick into the wall but West Ham win the second ball, Kouyate finding space down the right. His first cross is blocked, and the second is sliced behind.
2.04pm GMT
31 min Gueye dwells on the ball with no one behind him and Obiang pounces – for a split-second, it looks as though he’s in. But Gueye recovers well and they grab each other, in which time help arrives, so that when the foul finally comes, the card can be yellow and not red. Gueye misses Everton’s next game against Chelsea, and West Ham have a free-kick, 35 yards out, more or less dead centre. He he comes…
2.02pm GMT
30 min Everton aren’t letting West Ham’s defenders dwell on the ball now, which is allowing them to win it back in midfield where they’ve the numerical advantage.
2.00pm GMT
28 min This is now an excellent game.
1.59pm GMT
26 min What a save! Bolasie, who’s been quiet, employs some unfathomable sleight of foot to find space down the right, and his cross is a steepler, eventually cleared towards the left, where Oviedo arrives. He nips round the back, gets to the line and cuts for Barkley, who wobbles left- Reid obliges, going with him as he nudges right – he’s in front of goal! And he wallops his effort across goal from eight yards, only for Adrian to extend a go-go Gadget arm and palm away.
1.56pm GMT
24 min Two straight passes through midfield, first from Barry and then Barkley, set Lukaku away. Pulling left, he twists into a low shot that’s deflected behind, only for the corner to sail into Adrian’s arms.
1.55pm GMT
22 min Cresswell, deep inside the Everton half, pokes to Lanzini, and he sways inside, sending Funes Mori for a big of chips, then nips outside and twinkles into the box. From a tight angle, he opens his body to look for the far corner, but instead sends the ball hurtling across the face of goal and out.
1.53pm GMT
20 min Everton prompt around the box, Barkley, Mirallas, Barry and Gueye all involved as West Ham fail to clear when the move breaks down on two separate occasions. In the end, Gueye humps a low shot from just outside the box, right of centre, and drags it, which gives Lukaku the chance to requisition it. But his touch is heavy, and the ball runs into touch.
1.50pm GMT
19 min Antonio nashes down the left, assuming he’ll burn his man up, but Coleman does very well to stay with him, winning both ball and free-kick.
1.50pm GMT
18 min The movement of West Ham’s front three is befeuddling Everton’s back-four at the moment. Because none are natural goalscorers, none are mad to hang about in the middle, which makes them hard to mark, though the quid pro quo is the lack of significant presence in the box when crosses come in.
1.48pm GMT
15 min But back come Everton! A defensive block sets Lukaku away down the left and he saunters past Lanzini as easily as you’d expect before cutting back a cross that Reid misses. So Barry lays back for Gueye, only for Noble to dive in the road as he shoots, taking it on the forearm just outside the box – no free-kick is given – and the ball returns to Barry, who wafts a curler over the top. This is now a very lively affair.
1.46pm GMT
13 min Suddenly West Ham are in charge, Payet roving from centre to right and twisting into a shot that Joel fumbles behind. The corner comes to nowt but suddenly Everton look nervous. Fickle thing, confidence.
1.45pm GMT
12 min Loooovely from West Ham, Lanzini, in the middle now, jinking and swaying before caressing a short pass into Payet just outside the box. Nothing looks on, but he manages to poke a pass into Obiang’s path, and he’s in! But sliding tackles arrive form either side like motorised gates on speed, he’s disconcerted, and wellies his shot over the top as he falls. He asks for a penalty, but nothing doing.
1.43pm GMT
11 min Barkley into Lukaku and out to Bolasie, who botches the cut-back, but that was nice from Everton, who are territorially dominant. But immediately, West Ham break, and Lanzini twinkles into space at inside-right, rolling a perfectly weighted ball into Fernandes’ path. His cross is a good one too, low and fast, but Williams is alert enough to arrive before Antonio.
1.41pm GMT
10 min I’m guessing, but I bet neither of these teams are in the top half of the table for distance run.
1.40pm GMT
8 min Mirallas seizes on a loose kick from Adrian and skates down the left before crossing towards Lukaku, but Ogbonna intervenes before it gets any more embarrassing.
1.39pm GMT
7 min Barry, who is one booking from a suspension, addresses a 50-50 with Fernandes, misses the ball, and looks plaintive as the ref decides what to do with him. He escapes.
1.37pm GMT
5 min Payet snaffles a loose ball at inside-right and clips a superb arcing cross towards the back post, where Coleman does very well indeed to slide in a foil Antonio.
1.36pm GMT
5 min The ground rises to remember Howard Kendall – this is the first home game since the first anniversary of his death.
1.34pm GMT
3 min Antonio drifts right, his place in the middle taken by Payet, and Funes Mori follows him, sliding in to cede a throw.
1.33pm GMT
2 min West Ham are sitting off Everton until they cross the halfway line – breaking them down is going to be a problem, and need width or dribbling.
1.32pm GMT
1 min Already, Everton have wide players right out on the touchline. I know it’s more complicated than that, but three at the back always seems like you’re choosing to forget about the corners of the pitch.
1.31pm GMT
1 min We go again.
1.29pm GMT
This being the last Goodison game before Remembrance Sunday, wreaths are being laid in the centre-circle.
1.28pm GMT
Is there a game which says Premier League pace and excitement more than this one?
1.28pm GMT
Romelu Lukaku is earnestly gabbing at Yannick Bolasie. He looks focused.
1.26pm GMT
The ground PA reminds us which teams are playing, which is helpful.
1.25pm GMT
Out come the players!
1.25pm GMT
The more I think about this, the more I think the footballing match-up favours Everton, and the more I think about this, the more the mental match-up favours West Ham. Which is more important?
1.19pm GMT
And here's your
@WestHamUtd team today, courtesy of two enthusiastic young Hammers…
#EVEWHU pic.twitter.com/lafzhr8V4P
1.18pm GMT
Koeman says that Everton need to support Lukaku better, and finish better.He reckons that West Ham’s system is hard to play against, but more than that, they are confident again and have good players. He didn’t think about changing to mirror them, as “we can punish them for the spaces they will leave.”
1.15pm GMT
Jamie Redknapp says that in his experience, homegrown players have greater demands placed upon them by the crowd than foreign players – he’s talking about Ross Barkley. Graeme Souness says well if they can’t handle that they’re not going to make it – but really, is that the case? Obviously it helps if you’re tough, but I’m certain that plenty of successful types weren’t born that way.
1.09pm GMT
“He’s very clear,” says Gareth Barry of Ronaldo Koeman. “Everyone knows exactly what’s expected of them.”
Somewhere in Brussels, there’s a kindly, gentlemanly wince.
1.05pm GMT
1.04pm GMT
Email! “Glad to see Funes Mori back,” says Jegs McGregor. “He has Dixie Dean’s eyes.”
Ah Dixie, facilitator of the finest advertising tag of all-time: “Young footballers will have no cause to complain that smoking interferes with their general fitness … if they smoke Wix”.
Related:
The Joy of Six: football purple patches | Daniel Harris
12.58pm GMT
While we wait, here’s some FA Cup semi-final action from 1980:
12.54pm GMT
Is Bilic the Premier League’s only tatted-up manager? Just as I was about to hilariously quip that surely José Mourinho has one of himself on his chest, a popular search engine revealed that he has the names of his wife and kids around his wrist. Handy memory aid, that.
12.51pm GMT
Sky interviewed Slaven Bilic during the week, and he says that pre-season, 70% of the questions were about Champions League. Subconsciously that made his players over-confident, he thinks.
12.47pm GMT
Is this what they call baby blue?
MATCHDAY
Here come the Hammers…
#EVEWHU #COYI pic.twitter.com/Rqk5TaCLvw
12.46pm GMT
So, Everton’s line-up has two surprises: Stekelenberg has a foot injury, while Jagielka is rested.West Ham retain the 3-4-3 and no striker formation that worked so well in midweek, simply restoring Adrian. I wonder, though, how that will go against Everton, who’ll outnumber them in midfield and perhaps out wide too.
12.43pm GMT
Everton (a relatively rigid 4-3-3): Joel; Coleman, Funes Mori, Williams, Oviedo; Gueye, Barry, Barkley; Bolasie, Lukaku, Mirallas.
Subs: Hewelt, Jagielka, Deulofeu, Cleverley, Lennon, Calvert-Lewin, Holgate.
12.04pm GMT
West Ham have had a terrible start to the season. Starting to win big games in their new ground, in the last eight of the League Cup and, if they win today, they’re in the top half of the table.
Of course, it’s not quite as glib as that: the off-the-pitch problems don’t look like going away, to reach the semi-finals they need to win at Old Trafford, and if they lose today, they’re still fifth-bottom.
Related:
Ronald Koeman needs Romelu Lukaku to get Everton back on track | Paul Wilson
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