STOP LU AND WE STOP YOU
Reid highlights Koeman’s big worry
WINSTON REID made it sound simple – but stopping Romelu Lukaku underlined the problem for Everton boss Ronald Koeman.
Lukaku’s stunning scoring form has helped fire Everton into the top six and made the Belgian the Premier League’s leading scorer with 24 goals.
But none of his team-mates have scored more than four league goals and when the Hammers did a job on the striker, the Toffees goal threat disappeared.
That was a cause of frustration for Koeman as it prevented his side moving into fifth spot ahead of Manchester United’s clash with Burnley yesterday.
Belief
But with the £100m-rated striker stalling on a new deal, the weekend stalemate highlighted a longer-term issue for the manager.
For Reid and his Hammers, their success in nullifying Lukaku added to the belief they can end a desperate season on a positive note.
The centre-back said: “We just had to keep tight to him. Don’t let him turn. If he’s not going to turn, then he is not going to score, is he? It’d be pretty difficult. We wanted to try and keep him away from the goal. I know it’s pretty boring but it’s pretty simple.
“We just had to be on him in the box and make sure he couldn’t turn.
“We still need a few more points to be 100 per cent safe. But, building towards next year, I think the players will learn a lot from this.
“I think the players understand it’s been a tough season because it has been a roller-coaster ride.
“It’s never easy moving to a new stadium. We had a big turnaround in the squad. It’s not an excuse but we will learn from this experience and we need to do better.”
Koeman did not pull any punches after Everton extended their dismal away form, saying he’d have liked to have made 10 changes at half-time.
Centre-back Ashley Williams knows improvements are needed ahead of next weekend’s clash with leaders Chelsea.
He said: “It is a step nearer to Europe. We didn’t lose the game and got a clean sheet.
“Any time you can get one of those in the Premier League, you’re happy. We now go on to the next game.
“We need to play a lot better against Chelsea. We expect that, especially being at home.
“But we have been in good form at Goodison and we are very confident playing there.
“We would like to think we are going to play a lot better than today.” WEST HAM (3-5-2): Adrian 6; Fonte 7, REID 8, Collins 8; Fernandes 7, Kouyate 6 (Cresswell 79), Nordtveit 6, Lanzini 7, Masuaku 7; Ayew 4, Calleri 4 (Sakho 62, 5). Subs: Randolph, Fletcher, Holland, Rice, Makasi. UP NEXT: Stoke (a), Premier League, Saturday. EVERTON (4-2-3-1): Stekelenberg 6; Holgate 7, Jagielka 6, Williams 6, Baines 6; Schneiderlin 7, Gueye 4 (LOOKMAN Barkley 46, 7); 5, Davies 4 (Barry 46, 6), Mirallas 4 (Calvert-Lewin 72); Lukaku 5. Subs: Robles, Kone, Pennington, Kenny. UP NEXT: Chelsea (h), Premier YOUR League, Sunday. TURN: Who is the last man scored to have a hat-trick in a West-Ham Everton game?