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Everton 0-1 West Ham United | Match Report By Sam Quine

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Everton lost 1-0 to an organised West Ham side, after a tight affair at Goodison which sees the Hammers leapfrog the Toffees in the table.

It was the visitors who dominated possession in the early stages of the game with Everton looking to sit back and deploy a counter-attacking style that has been so effective this season.

The Blues were struggling to get out against a sharp West Ham attack who were pressing well forcing sloppy passes from the backline. Rafa’s men were simply second to everything in the opening fifteen minutes.

The outlet pass that Everton was looking for was either not coming or was unable to be controlled by the winger. West Ham also seemed to have an abundance of space all over the park.

Everton finally entered the game on the sixteen-minute mark after a great run by Coleman led to him feeding Townsend who whipped a dangerous ball into the area but to no blue shirt.

The game fell into a sort of stalemate with both sides creating minimal chances and not exerting too much energy.

The best chance of the game came after some great work by Gray on the right-wing where he skipped past Ogbonna and found Iwobi who missed the ball and spurned a wonderful opportunity.

Everton had collected some momentum on the half-hour mark, creating chances from out wide and regaining possession further up the pitch. Townsend floated a cross into the box where Doucoure arrived late but placed his header just wide of the post.

At halftime, both teams probably hadn’t done enough to take the lead but it was Everton that needed to introduce more of a threat into the game. The match seemed to be passing Iwobi and Rondon by and it begs the question of why hungry youngsters like Gordon and Dobbin weren’t getting a chance.

It was Iwobi again who had a great chance at the start of the second half after he was found well by Digne in the box, the winger turned well but his shot was blocked by Ogbonna.

Rondon nearly opened his Everton account after a wicked Townsend cross found the striker but he could only glance it wide. Goodison as well as the players were now up for this game and had an additional purpose.

The host’s counter-attacking plan nearly worked to perfect when dDoucoureoicoire released Townsend down the right but the winger couldn’t find the onrushing Gray in the middle.

It was West Ham who took the lead through Ogbonna from a corner after the defender made a darting near run and powered his header past Pickford.

The goal forced Benitez to finally make a change with Gordon coming on to replace Iwobi to hopefully bring the Blues back into the game through his direct, positive play.

The Hammers nearly doubled their lead when Bowen skipped past 2 defenders and bent his effort toward the top left but Pickford was equal to it.

After the goal went in, there was no real urgency in Everton’s play and no real willingness to get a result which would be disappointing to fans.

The style of Everton’s play going forward will need improving across this season as, at the minute, it is very one-dimensional, opting to use Rondon as a hold-up man when he doesn’t necessarily have the ability to play at this standard.

The Blues are really missing the quality of Calvert-Lewin and Richarlison up top as they are players who can produce moments of magic and today’s game definitely needed it as opposed to the regimented tactics of Benitez.

Player Ratings:
Jordan Pickford – 5/10
Seamus Coleman – 7/10
Ben Godfrey – 6/10
Michael Keane – 6/10
Lucas Digne – 6.5/10
Allan – 7.5/10
Abdoulaye Doucoure – 7/10
Alex Iwobi – 4/10
Demarai Gray – 6/10
Andros Townsend – 7/10
Salomon Rondon – 3/10

Substitutes:
Anthony Gordon – 5/10