At the end of what was a slow-burn, slightly room temperature draw, Roberto Martínez admitted he had been a little torn about his approach at Upton Park, spooked by the rawness of the 6-2 defeat of Sunderland the previous week. At times it showed. Everton sat deep waiting to counterattack. West Ham, who have won well this season playing the same style, struggled to build really concerted pressure. The promise of two mouthwatering attacks really peeped through only in isolated moments, most notably in two beautifully crafted goals.
Perhaps Martínez’s caution here, as Everton played with James McCarthy and Gareth Barry in front of the back four, and rarely committed midfield and full-backs forward – had something to do with that slight shift of tensions at the top of the table. For the Premier League’s aspirational top-half clubs there is now an undeniable sub-plot to Chelsea’s travails, the promise, dimly, of something more than a Thursday night in the B-class next season if form and fates click together. very one of the Premier League’s current top nine should consider themselves in with a shout of fourth place in the table.
Of two evenly matched teams at Upton Park it is Everton who will harbour the more realistic hopes. This is based more on the quality of Martínez’s first choice XI than a recent run which has seen only two wins, against West Bromwich and Sunderland, in the past nine games. From here Everton have seven very winnable Premier League fixtures before January, when they play Tottenham Hotspur, Manchester City and Chelsea. If they are to cash in that sense of potential, the wonderfully fluent, mobile, fast-breaking team that lurk just behind the slightly flakier version seen at times this season, two players in particular will be crucial, as they were at Upton Park.
John Stones was the best player on the pitch, and not just for his familiar calmness and craft on the ball. As a teenager at Barnsley the only slight caveat about Stones centred on an apparent low tolerance for physical pain, concern at the amount of times he left the field for treatment after a bump or a hack (a common problem for crispbread-thin players in any contact sport: it really does hurt more).
Here Stones was imperiously in control against Andy Carroll. If you want to ruffle him you have got to get near him first, and as he had against Diego Costa, Stones simply strode, and turned and feinted away from Carroll or stepped in front of him to take the ball without a tangle, demonstrating why so far this season he has committed one foul every 180 minutes in the Premier League. Stones was also known as a great mimic coming through at Barnsley. Here he did a pretty decent Alan Hansen, all composed, upright, gliding authority. On current form he is not just the best young English centre-half. He is England’s best defender, not to mention a natural on-field leader simply by virtue of his composure and intelligence on the ball.
Albeit, it was from a Stones clearance that Manuel Lanzini picked up the ball and scored West Ham’s opener, shuttling forwards and curling a delicious dipping shot into the top corner. At this point West Ham were fair value for their lead. After which Slaven Bilic’s team suffered from injuries, most notably Dimitri Payet’s enforced departure after a heavy first-half, scissors-style tackle by McCarthy.
Perhaps this played a part in Payet losing the ball in the buildup to the equaliser just before half-time. The goal was made by another of Everton’s other high-class 20-somethings, albeit a more mercurial presence. With the ball at his feet Gerard Deulofeu is a genuine A-list talent as he showed with a dreamy through pass for Romelu Lukaku’s equaliser.
The Spaniard can be slightly maddening, but whatever he might do to the team’s defensive patterns, whatever paroxysms he might induce in his managers, Everton score when he plays. Deulofeu has now started four of the last six Premier League games, providing five assists and one goal in the process. Martínez deserves credit for trusting his talent.
For West Ham the international break provides a welcome rest. The first third of the season has brought some glorious moments, and there was confirmation again of the capacity of Lanzini and Payet to influence matches, not to mention some fine thrust down the right from Victor Moses. Injuries to Payet and his replacement Enner Valencia left Bilic frustrated at the end, with some talk Valencia’s departure on international duty may be delayed.
Man of the match John Stones (Everton)
