West Ham United 2 – 0 Everton. Everton slumped to another defeat in front of owner Farhad Moshiri as Jarrod Bowen’s first-half double earned West Ham their first win in almost three months and piled the pressure on Toffees manager Frank Lampard.
Under-fire Moshiri was attending his first game in 14 months – alongside the directors who missed last week’s home defeat by Southampton because of what Everton said was a ‘real and credible’ threat to their safety – in a show of support for Lampard and defiance of his critics.
But his return didn’t bring Everton any luck as Bowen scored twice in seven first-half minutes to take West Ham out of the relegation zone and bring some respite for manager David Moyes, who has been under intense pressure himself.
Everton has now gone 10 games without a win in all competitions and has picked up a single point – at Manchester City – in a run of seven games that has included five defeats against teams immediately around them in the relegation battle.
The final whistle brought more boos from the Everton contingent and also banners being raised demanding ‘Sack the Board’ and ‘No Communication, No Plan, No Vision’.
Managers are forever talking about the fine margins that make the difference between success and failure.
Bowen’s opener could not have been finer. At first glance, it appeared he was offside as he advanced onto Kurt Zouma’s header to knock the ball past Jordan Pickford. But VAR spotted James Tarkowski’s leg was playing the England man on by about an inch.
If trials agreed upon by the International Football Association Board are successful, next season the supporters inside the ground may get an actual explanation. Instead, they had to make do with referee Stuart Atwell pointing to the centre circle.
Having gone 12 games without a goal, Bowen’s next arrived seven minutes later as Tarkowski dived into a tackle on Michail Antonio in a position of little danger, allowing the West Ham forward to run into the box and deliver a low cross which was driven home from close range.
Had Alex Iwobi pulled one back before the break with a shot that was going in until it deflected off Declan Rice, and then onto a post, Everton might have found a way back into the contest.
But, having established a crucial advantage, West Ham was not in the mood to let it go.
source – BBC