Everton recorded their second Premiership win on the trot thanks largely to an overdue contribution from £3.5m summer signing Gary Speed. The former Leeds midfielder, who has only flickered occasionally for his new club, helped steer Everton to victory at Goodison with the vital second goal after 78 minutes -- a fine finish. It was only his third of the season. His last in the league came on the opening day when Newcastle were beaten 2-0. Since then his form has dipped and the goals have dried up with his last one coming in the second leg of the Coca-Cola Cup defeat by York last month. Today, though, he was back in the groove with his first goal in eight league matches. The home side needed it, too.
West Ham never gave up the fight and managed to pull back a consolation goal four minutes from time when Julian Dicks blasted a spot kick beyond Neville Southall after Andy Hinchcliffe had brought down the slippery Hugo Porfirio.
Everton endured an anxious last four minutes but were able to hang on for only their third league victory of the season. Manager Joe Royle again called up 17-year-old striker Michael Branch to partner Graham Stuart in attack in the absence of Paul Rideout and Duncan Ferguson.
Porfirio, on loan from Sporting Lisbon, got away from Craig Short after only 10 minutes. The Everton defender's tackle was clumsy and the Hammers made loud appeals for a penalty. However referee Graham Barber waved away their protests and allowed play to continue, much to Everton's relief.
The home side opened the scoring after 14 minutes when Joe Parkinson saw a shot blocked. Hinchcliffe, on England duty in mid-week, drove the ball back in and Stuart got on the end of it to steer it past keeper Ludek Miklosko. Parkinson was forced to go off shortly afterwards and was followed by hobbling colleague John Ebbrell at halftime.
The Hammers were only inches away from getting the equaliser when Iain Dowie latched on to a huge clearance from keeper Miklosko but Neville Southall got up to turn his stinging shot over the bar.
Branch glanced a header wide from a cross by Andrei Kanchelskis but Everton then suffered another scare. Southall again did superbly well to block a header from Dicks after Michael Hughes had swung in a corner and Hinchcliffe cleared off the line.
Speed seemed to have put the game out of the Hammers' reach with 12 minutes to go when he was released by Earl Barrett and directed a 20-yard shot into the corner. Dicks had the last word by scoring from the spot for his third goal of the season.
