BIG FAT FRANK
West Ham 2 Everton 0
You wouldn’t want to be part of a six pointer with Everton at any stage of the season, but having found themselves in the bottom three at the exact halfway stage, there may be trouble ahead. Something else to throw into the mix is the unexpected acquisition of one Danny Ings of Aston Villa, bought explicitly to save Hammers’ season by scoring the goals that no other striker has been able to since mid October. So he’s making his debut up front with Jarrod Bowen.
Wrong. Michail Antonio, who hasn’t scored in the Premier League for some considerable time, has retained his position in the front line, though he will probably have to give way for Ings with five minutes to go if West Ham are two goals behind. Does any of this sound familiar?
Before the game commences, there is an elaborate and respectful tribute to David Gold, Joint Chairman of the club, with a minute’s applause and a minor delay to the kick off while the tribute ephemera is carefully packaged up and dragged off the pitch. I note the time. 15.02. I read somewhere that Premier League sides are fined £60,000 if their games don’t start on time, for whatever reason. Maybe some latitude will be in order.
Although Hammers look quite stylish in the opening quarter of an hour, they make no genuine forays into the Everton defence, and look not unlike the FA Cup side who struggled to make inroads into the Brentford defence a couple of weekends ago. However the back three of Ogbonna, Zouma and Aguerd seem to have blocked the central way through that Leeds exploited just before that. Just the small matter of where the goals are coming from to win this match.
Half an hour soon elapses with neither side looking any more likely to score than the other, though Benrahma forces a decent save from Pickford after a neat setup from Antonio. But Hammers are stubbornly insisting on building their attacks down the right hand side, and Rice is involved in most of them, including the one that leads to the first goal, when he picks out Bowen who forces a corner. From it, Emerson chips in a cross that Bowen nips in to score his first goal in thirteen. He then scores a second after Antonio takes on and beats Tarkowski down the right, chipping in a measured pass that Bowen executes with perfection.
A perfect brace for a man who recently discovered he and his wife are having twins later in the year. Also, another opportunity to remind the reader of Tarkowski’s insistence back in the day that he chose Everton over West Ham, because they were a ‘bigger club’ (who are now being beaten by two clear goals, and it’s not even half-time).
The second half sees West Ham relying mainly on breakaways, one of which has Emerson pull a stunning save from Pickford, who tips his shot onto the bar. Ings comes on with the game almost safe, looking hungry and the cultivator of some space and speed.
In the end, West Ham have won comfortably, and impresario Bill Kenright, generously allowed to attend the game by the Everton supporters, looks like his crest has fallen. As for big fat Frank, Everton’s manager cuts a small and forlorn figure against the celebrating backdrop of claret and blue in the darkening East End night sky.
1 Lucasz Fabianski, 33 Emerson, 4 Kurt Zouma, 21 Angelo Ogbonna, 27 Nayef Aguerd, 5 Vladimir Coufal, 22 Saïd Benrahma, 41 Declan Rice (captain), 11 Lucas Paquetá, 9 Michail Antonio, 20 Jarrod Bowen
Substitutes: 18 Danny Ings, 28 Tomas Souček, 2 Ben Johnson, 12 Flynn Downes
Goalscorer: Jarrod Bowen (2)
