I’ll leave you with our match report from Goodison. Thanks for your company - bye!
There are seven 3pm fixtures in the Premier League. Tom Bassam has team news from around the country.
Post-match reaction
Gylfi Sigurdsson “It was a fantastic performance. It was one of those games where we had a lot of chances, so you never know when it’s only 1-0, but luckily we managed to hold on to the three points. We had a lot of energy andthere was a real purpose to our game today. We pressed them high; we passed the ball really well with good movement.
Theo Walcott “The guys were fantastic from start to finish. The international break can be difficult but we worked hard and the team showed how strong we actually are going forward. We don’t want to get ahead of ourselves but we know the quality of the team. The fans were fantastic. There was a sense of urgency in our game today and everyone enjoyed it.”
It’s safe to say Marco Silva hasn’t lost the dressing-room. That was a superb performance, with a blistering intensity throughout. There was plenty of quality, too; Theo Walcott, Richarlison and Andre Gomes were especially good, while the substitute Gylfi Sigurdsson scored a spectacular late goal to settle the match.
Full time: Everton 2-0 West Ham
Peep peep! Everton jump up to 12th with a rousing, emphatic victory over West Ham.
That was a classic Sigurdsson goal. He received a square pass from Richarlison 25 yards from goal and sat Wilshere down by dummying to shoot with his left foot. Then he came back onto his right foot, looked up and whipped a beautiful rising curler that flew into the net. It brushed the fingers of Roberto, who was at full stretch, but he was never saving that.
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GOAL! Everton 2-0 West Ham (Sigurdsson 90+2)
The substitute Gylfi Sigurdsson seals victory with a glorious goal!
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90+1 min There will be four minutes of added time. Pickford makes a smart save from Ajeti, who had been flagged offside. That would have been tight had it gone to VAR.
90 min “Even I am currently higher than Man Utd,” sniffs Ian Copestake.
89 min Rice abandons his station to surge into the Everton area, but Mina comes across to shepherd the ball through to Pickford. Good defending.
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89 min “Shouldn’t the referee wait for the ball to go out of play in order to blow the whistle?” says Miltos Kal. “What’s the point of VAR if the referee stops the attack and it can’t be reviewed?”
I have no idea any more. There are so many inconsistencies and imperfections.
88 min Sigurdsson gets involved straight away, warming Roberto’s right hand from 20 yards.
87 min Gylfi Sigurdsson replaces Alex Iwobi, who has had a good game apart from that missed chance a few moments ago.
85 min Everton make a change: Moise Kean on, Theo Walcott off. He’s been outstanding.
83 min West Ham are given a corner despite a clear hack by Masuaku on Sidibe. I’m not sure Sidibe touched the ball either. The corner leads to a goalmouth scramble and eventually a brilliant save from Pickford to repel Ogbonna’s deflected close-range shot. There would have been mayhem had that gone in.
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82 min Everton have been great today; a 3-0 scoreline wouldn’t flatter them.
81 min Walcott plays a give-and-go with Iwobi and fizzes a cross to the near post. Diop gets in a tangle and unwittingly rams the ball towards his own goal; it flies off the head of Roberto, who had no time to react, and over the bar.
79 min Diop is booked for a foul on Richarlison. I think that Mina goal was disallowed because Andre Gomes blocked Diop, but it looked a very harsh decision. There was no pause for a VAR check, so goodness knows.
78 min: Mina has a goal disallowed! It was an empathic header from Bernard’s right-wing corner, but Paul Tierney had blown for a foul. I’m not exactly sure what that was for.
77 min: Iwobi misses a glorious chance! That should have been the match for Everton. Sidibe charged down the inside-right channel, waited for Richarlison to drag defenders out of the way and then played a fine pass towards Iwobi in space down the middle. His first touch was immaculate, dragging the ball away from Diop on the run, but he stabbed his shot far close to Roberto.
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76 min “Is it just me,” says Ian Copestake, “or has this game been going on for hours?”
Well you might think that but I couldn’t possibly comment.
74 min West Ham make their final change, and switch to a 4-4-2 formation: Mark Noble is replaced by the young Swiss striker Albian Ajeti.
73 min It’s a much tighter game in the second half, though Everton still look the likelier scorers. Andre Gomes plays a delightful pass inside Fredericks for Digne, whose low cross towards Richarlison deflects through to the keeper Roberto.
71 min “Good to see a report written partly in Old English,” says Charles Antaki. “The phrase ‘the superb Walcott’ dates back to c. 2007-8 AD but was thought to have fallen into disuse somewhere around 2012. Fondly remembered, if now largely obsolete.”
Wait until Jack Wilshere equalises. Then you’ll really see some Chaucer.
70 min Declan Rice is booked for a foul on Walcott, who has been the best player on the pitch. On which subject...
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68 min The Premier League is so tight that a win would lift Everton from 18th to 12th, above Manchster United and only a point behind Spurs.
67 min Yarmolenko’s free-kick is comfortably saved by Pickford, moving smartly across his line.
64 min: Walcott hits the bar! That was a ferocious strike. Digne’s free-kick from the left was headed out to him, 25 yards from goal, by Ogbonna. He controlled the ball with his chest and then, as it bounced up, lashed a beautiful shot that flashed past the diving Roberto all ends up and rebounded off the underside of the bar.
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63 min Another West Ham substitution. Jack Wilshere replaces Pablo Fornals, who has had a minor stinker.
63 min “West Ham are overrated,” says Clive Smith. “Their displays this season have not been that good. The manager plays one forward home and away. The defence is one of the worst in the league. I have supported this team over seventy years. Nothing changes. As long as they stay in the Premiership that’s ok. They have not won anything for nearly forty years and never will.”
I sense a certain apathy towards the 1999 Intertoto Cup.
62 min Roberto makes a comfortable save from Mina’s header.
61 min This has been a stirring performance from Everton, who have played with the kind of intensity that the home fans love.
59 min Digne whistles a free-kick just wide from a tight angle on the right.
56 min West Ham have been slightly better in attack since the break, with Fornals seeing a lot of the ball. He’s done bugger all with it, but it’s the taking part that counts.
53 min The superb Walcott wins a corner for Everton. Digne curls it towards the far post, where Mina’s downward header is saved comfortably by Roberto.
51 min West Ham’s best chance. Yarmolenko’s cross from the right bounces nicely into the path of Fornals, who mishits a first-time shot wide of the far post from 15 yards.
48 min “You should have a butchers at the match thread in r/Hammers on reddit,” says Mark Lepine. “To say, ‘West Ham have been poor’ is an understatement in there.”
The internet: the worst thing to happen to society since [blank].
47 min Richarlison goes down holding his face after wearing the point of Diop’s elbow. It was accidental.
46 min: Richarlison has a goal disallowed for offside! It was the right decision, as he was well off; it was also a superb volleyed finish from Richarlison.
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46 min Peep peep! West Ham have brought on Andriy Yarmolenko, which isn’t a surprise, and taken off Felipe Anderson, which is.
Half time: Everton 1-0 West Ham
Peep peep! Everton deservedly lead through Bernard’s unlikely goal, a reward for persistence and improvisation. The rejigged side, with Richarlison up front, have looked sharp on the counter-attack and could be further ahead. West Ham, who omitted Andriy Yarmolenko, have been poor.
45+3 min Tom Davies is booked for something or other.
45 min There will be three minutes of added time.
44 min “It seems to me that Marco Silva might be another managerial victim of Olivier Giroud’s failed transfer to Everton,” says Admir Pajic. “Neither Calvert-Lewin nor Kean are what Everton need right now. Given that, today’s front line of four wingers capable of interchanging positions might be the last straw for Silva. As an Arsenal fan, I still recall how some of the finest Arsenal display’s in the last years of Wenger’s career - including 5-2 at Leicester, 3-0 over Man U and 3-0 over Chelsea - were made possible by Theo Walcott starting in a No.9 role or on the right wing with a mobile striker (Alexis) down the middle. Of course, he will never have qualities of a classic No.9 like Giroud but he still has pace and is a calm finisher.”
42 min Felipe Anderson gets away from Mina, but then underhits his a cross/pass towards the unmarked Haller.
40 min Richarlison’s shot from the edge of the area is blocked, and Walcott scissor-kicks the loose ball wide. Richarlison had the best chance; he should have played in the overlapping Sidibe to his right.
38 min Walcott’s speculative, backheeled cross-shot is blocked by Masuaku. Walcott has been superb today, with an without the ball.
38 min Nothing much happening at the moment. West Ham have offered very little in attack.
33 min Pickford makes a comfortable diving save from Fornals’ header. I think it would have been disallowed for offside anyway.
32 min Play resumes.
31 min “With regards to your confusion about Ian’s son…” begins James Chambers. “Everyone knows that BA ain’t getting’ on no plane, you crazy fool… I’d go with Toy Story 4.”
Crikey, a shock scoreline: Pixar 1-0 Napoli.
30 min There’s a break in play with Masuaku is treated for a bloody nose. He collided with Tom Davies.
27 min “Bernard is going to be good playing for Merseyside in the traditional Christmas five-a-side tournament at Earl’s Court,” says Gary Naylor.
You say that like it’s a … hang on, is it a good thing?
24 min Iwobi’s long-range shot is held by Roberto. West Ham are being overrun at the moment.
22 min: Richarlison hits the post! That was really nice football from, Everton. Iwobi played him in with a lovely through pass down the side of the defence. Richarlison got between the centre backs and drove a low first-time shot from a tight angle that hit the outside of the post. After a nervy start, Everton have been terrific in the last 10 minutes.
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21 min “Greetings Rob,” says Ian Sargeant. “West Ham fan here. Halfway to new York with ba. Reliant on your good self and a dodgy wifi for updates whilst trying to stop my 14 yo from watching too much family guy. Trying to decide whether to watch toy story 4 or the Maradona film next. Can you run a poll till half time?”
I think we all know what answer you’ll get. More importantly, I had to read your third sentence at least four times before I realised that ba wasn’t an affectionate name for your 14-year-old.
19 min Richarlison almost makes it 2-0 on the break. He skinned Diop with elegant ease in the inside-left channel, moved into the area and then couldn’t decide whether to shoot or try to find Andre Gomes. In the end he tried to cut the ball back into the centre, and Ogbonna put it behind for a corner.
It was made by the lively Walcott, who cut infield from the right and played a nice through pass to Bernard on the right side of the area. He decided not to shoot first time, which looked a poor decision, instead cutting back inside Masuaku. Then he wriggled back outside Masuaku and, from a very tight angle, poked the ball under the left armpit of the outrushing Roberto. It was poor goalkeeping from Roberto, who was beaten on the inside, but Bernard won’t care.
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GOAL! Everton 1-0 West Ham (Bernard 17)
Everton take the lead with a peculiar solo goal from Bernard!
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13 min It hasn’t been a great game so far. Everton have been the better side though.
8 min: Great save by Roberto! That corner led to another, this time on the left. It was flicked on at the near post and sidefooted towards goal on the volley by Davies, six yards out. It looked a certain goal, but Roberto dived to his left to shovel it away. On reflection, Davies should probably have scored - it wasn’t the cleanest connection, nor was it right in the corner - but it was still a brilliant save.
7 min Fine play from Walcott. He controls a long ball on the edge of the area, spins outside and then back inside Ogbonna before hitting an early shot towards the far corner. Ogbonna dangles a leg to deflect it behind for a corner.
6 min Everton win the first corner of the match. Masuaku heads it clear, and that’s that.
4 min ... and he curls it well wide.
3 min Felipe Anderson is fouled by Richarlison, 25 yards from goal. It’s slightly to the left of centre, perfect for Lanzini...
2 min The atmosphere is a wee bit muted. The first goal feels particularly important today.
1 min Peep peep! West Ham, in their cracking clartet-and-blue kit, kick off from left to right. Everton are in blue.
Pre-match reading
Team news
Everton (4-2-3-1) Pickford; Sidibe, Keane, Mina, Digne; Andre Gomes, Davies; Walcott, Iwobi, Bernard; Richarlison.
Substitutes: Lossl, Holgate, Baines, Sigurdsson, Baningime, Calvert-Lewin, Kean.
West Ham (4-1-4-1) Roberto; Fredericks, Diop, Ogbonna, Masuaku; Rice; Fornals, Noble, Lanzini, Felipe Anderson; Haller.
Substitutes: Martin, Balbuena, Zabaleta, Snodgrass, Wilshere, Yarmolenko, Ajeti.
Referee Paul Tierney.
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Preamble
Hello. Kevin Brock never kicked a ball for Everton, but he played one of the most important passes in their history. Brock’s poor backpass, which allowed Adrian Heath to score a late equaliser against Oxford in a Milk Cup quarter-final in January 1984, probably saved Howard Kendall from the sack. Fifteen months later, Everton were the best side in England, having stormed to the title with a record five games to spare, and possibly Europe.
Marco Silva could do with a Kevin Brock moment right now. He is fighting for his job, with Everton third from bottom and on a run of four straight defeats. Another against West Ham today might be his last. Everton have been a bit unfortunate at times, and they were excellent against Manchester City in their last home game, but the modern culture of instant gratification will not tolerate a club of Everton’s size being in the bottom three.
Ronald Koeman was sacked two years ago this weekend, after a 5-2 defeat at home to Arsenal left them in the relegation places. Koeman also had a promising first season and an unfathomably poor start to the second. Silva will hope the comparison ends there.
Kick off is at 12.30pm.
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