WEST HAM 2-1 EVERTON; WONDERFUL GOALS FROM CRESSWELL AND BOWEN GIVES WEST HAM WIN AT HOME.
A wonderful Aaron Cresswell free-kick set West Ham United on their way to a 2-1 victory against an Everton side who sit three points above the drop, and are still without an away win under Frank Lampard.
Historically, the ‘Toffees’ love travelling to West Ham, taking 16 more points against the ‘Hammers’ than any other team away from home in Premier League (PL) history. Coming off the back of two consecutive away H2H wins, the away side looked to start the game on the front foot despite their current run of 11 games without winning on the road. For all their possession and confidence in pushing more men forward, Everton looked capable of making a mistake. Mason Holgate, called into the team as a consequence of Donny van de Beek’s warm-up injury, looked understandably off the pace. He ploughed into Jarrod Bowen in an enticing position for Cresswell’s left foot. Making his 250th PL appearance, the left-back duly obliged, curling a trademark free-kick over the wall and beyond the reach of a despairing Jordan Pickford.
HT marked 376 minutes without an away shot on goal for Everton and Dominic Calvert-Lewin was knocking on the door shortly after the break, but his left-footed effort grazed the crossbar after being played through by Alex Iwobi. The ‘Toffees’ did manage to drag themselves level, with Holgate providing Lampard with his first away goal. The ball fell to him as the ‘Hammers’ failed to clear from a corner and his half-volley found the bottom corner via a sizable deflection. However, Everton were level for only six minutes, as Iwobi miscontrolled an easy pass, allowing Fornals to set Michail Antonio free. His left-footed effort was smartly saved, but the follow-up fell kindly into the path of Bowen, who calmly stroked home.
Things went from bad to worse for Everton in the 64th minute as Michael Keane received a second yellow after unnecessarily piling into the back of Antonio on the edge of the box. The rash challenge put an end to hopes of a revival, allowing the ‘Hammers’ to jump into 5th, completing their first league double over the Merseyside team since 1972/73 in the process. Meanwhile, Everton now have a must-win away trip to Turf Moor coming up on Wednesday as they look to preserve their proud, ever-present status in the PL.
