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

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Everton claimed a hard-fought 1-0 win against David Moyes’ Hammers as the hunt for 7th or higher continues. 


The opportunity for European football was once again in Everton’s hands after Tottenham were beaten by Leeds yesterday afternoon.
Carol’s decision to change the formation to a 5 back and drop underperforming players like Holgate was a welcome one as adding more defensive cover could only be a good thing.


An early concern was the fact that the Everton were very static, opting to let players run into dead ends rather than offer multiple options to build up an attack.
In addition to this, Calvert-Lewin, like most of the season, seemed to be our only real outlet through long balls from either Keane or Mina. 
It was felt that the Toffees had to be more direct in order to win this game as passing round the back would ultimately prove pointless in penetrating the organised West Ham backline.


Hints of where Everton would get their success came from the wing backs in Digne and Coleman who would have to hug the line in order to stretch the opposition.
The frustration was coming from the fact that when we attacked we only had two or three players in the opposition half with no real support.
The breakthrough came for the Blues on the 24 minute mark when DCL made a great run which was matched by an equally great ball by Godfrey. The former sped through and finished expertly into the bottom left, the type of chance he would’ve missed a few weeks ago.


That goal showed that through balls will work well for the Blues as the pace of the two up top could exploit the likes of Craig Dawson who isn’t blessed with speed.
Even with the lead it was the Hammers who dominated possession and were firing in crosses with little to no pressure stopping them.
Overall the first half was a decent performance as the Blues soaked up pressure, limited West Ham to minimal opportunities and capitalised on the one golden chance that was offered to them.


Everton started the second half well, attacking down the wings, delivering crosses and progressing well up the pitch largely down to the excellent ball retention of Richarlison.
Everton’s shape was compact, making it difficult for the opposition as they had to work hard in order to create space. This seemed to be Ancelottis plan to tire them out and hit on the break.


The Hammers had their best chance of the game when Coufal hit the right post with the rebound falling to Jarrod Bowen who couldn’t turn the ball into the net.


A chance to extend the lead came when DCL found a superb ball to the overlapping Coleman who couldn’t sort his feet out to deliver a proper shot on goal.


King who was subbed for Richarlison almost grabbed his first Everton goal when DCL crossed in only for the Norwegian striker to see his header cannon off the post.


The Toffees just had to keep the ball for the remainder of the game, something they were finding difficult as possession was sloppily turned over multiple times.


Carlo Ancelottis first win in seven attempts against David Moyes proved to be a huge one as Everton once again throw themselves back in the mix for European football.


The performance was a professional one, numbing the West Ham attack with the whole defence looking solid from the first minute.


Allan in particular was a stand out performer as his constant energy to harass and win the ball back was vital in securing all three points.


If the Toffees can deploy the same system and DCL can continue to finish those one on one chances in the remaining four games, then Everton have a great opportunity to finish the season on a high.


Player Ratings:

Jordan Pickford – 6

Lucas Digne – 7

Ben Godfrey – 8

Yerry Mina – 7

Michael Keane – 7

Seamus Coleman – 8

Allan – 9

Tom Davies -7.5

Gylfi Sigurdsson – 5

Richarlison – 7.5

Dominic Calvert-Lewin – 8


Substitutes:

Mason Holgate – 6

Josh King – N/A

Fabian Delph – N/A