The Irish Mail on Sunday

Everton find form with a timely win

- By Riath Al-Samarrai

EVERTON seem to have found a little rhythm at last and West Ham have rediscover­ed their knack for being the most embarrassi­ng attendee at their own house party.

Just when they seemed to have worked this stadium out, they found themselves stumbling around with their collective fly down and cheap red on their shirts.

Everton, themselves no poster for consistenc­y, were excellent. Or so they looked. Maybe they were merely very good and elevated in image by how poor West Ham were, particular­ly in the first half when they were blown apart and somehow only conceded to Kurt Zouma and Bernard.

What will be encouragin­g for Marco Silva is that they have seemingly found a way of putting one foot in front of the other. Their issue this season has been the stumbles and miss-steps, the false dawns. They get a win, they go on a streak of lost hope. Over and again. Look at the Newcastle game three weeks back — 2-0 up at the break, beaten 3-2 at the whistle. Then they beat Chelsea. A weird old team, Everton.

But this win is important because on the back of that Chelsea result they now have consecutiv­e wins for only the second time this season. In the race for seventh — if indeed that is a hype-worthy thing — it bodes well that they have found a way to repeat quality performanc­es.

West Ham, by contrast, need to go back to the drawing board. It was alarming that they should concede three in victory against Huddersfie­ld last time out, but Everton were unlikely to be so receptive in response. And so it proved.

Against West Ham’s initial configurat­ion of 4-2-3-1 and the adaptation­s that put it more like a 4-4-2. Against all shapes, Everton found their way through.

It took only five minutes for Silva’s side to lead, with Gylfi Sigurdsson finding Zouma with a corner and the defender bouncing his header over Aaron Cresswell, who was on the back post. The details will show Rice as the initial marker and that Issa Diop was easily beaten to the header, so not a great look for West Ham. For Sigurdsson, it was a fourth assist to go with 12 goals – one of the more consistent forces in this side.

From there, the great surprise was how it stayed at only 1-0 for the next 28 minutes. In one passage of play Lukasz Fabianski made reaction saves from Dominic Calvert-Lewin and Sigurdsson and within a moment had made another to stop Lucas Digne. In all, Everton had the extra man on attacks three times in the first 15 minutes alone.

The second goal, shortly after the half hour, was delightful in its speed and execution, with Seamus Coleman exchanging passes with Richarliso­n before squaring to Bernard who finished from inside the sixyard box. It was the margin Everton deserved. They had other chances through Idrissa Gueye and Richarliso­n, while West Ham, at their best, saw Manuel Lanzini botch his touch on one opening before Marko Arnautovic scuffed his shot on another.

A positive outing for the Toffees, and a frustratin­g one for the Hammers.

 ??  ?? HIGH FIVE: Zouma leaps to head Everton into the lead in the fifth minute
HIGH FIVE: Zouma leaps to head Everton into the lead in the fifth minute
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