Win over Everton special: Moyes
London: West Ham manager David Moyes said winning at Everton for the first time since he left the club was “special”.
Tomas Soucek’s late goal gave West Ham a 1-0 Premier League victory at Goodison Park.
“Always going back to your old clubs is special,” said Moyes, who had lost on his previous four visits to Everton following his departure in 2013 after 11 years in charge. “I had a brilliant time here - great years - but I want to do it again at West Ham and that means going and winning at the other clubs.” Aaron Cresswell’s shot deflected off Everton defender Yerry Mina into the path of Soucek, who tapped home in the 85th minute of a largely uneventful game.
Everton, who had won their previous four league games, missed out on climbing to second in the table.
To say the first 85 minutes lacked creativity would be an understatement. Neither side were able to dominate going forward, with the first shot on target coming on the stroke of half-time.
Moyes and Everton manager Carlo Ancelotti have built their teams around defensive stability. Soucek’s goal was only the second Everton have conceded in five league games, while West Ham have now kept two consecutive clean sheets.
“Coming here tonight and winning was really important,” Moyes said.
“Everton are in a great moment, have been playing well, getting great results and had a chance to go second, so you couldn’t underestimate what it would mean to Everton. And we were on the back of our third game in six days.” West Ham had the pick of the chances, Cresswell forcing Jordan Pickford into a smart save and Michail Antonio having a drilled effort kept out in the second half. They also proved difficult to break down and were playing the better football when midfielder Soucek, their leading scorer this season, netted his fifth goal of the campaign.