NEW GROUND, OLD RESULT
West Ham 0 Everton 1
There it stands, incomplete, three miles out of the city, with all the hopes of studious and impatient supporters, convinced that success awaits just around the corner. Everton are also building a new ground, this one earmarked for group fixtures in the 2028 UEFA European Championships Finals. So they’d better get on with the construction.
Sean Dyche is also a man captivated by impatience. The dream of instant success is a concept that has generally proved elusive to the many ambitious clubs in the Premier League who are fired by foreign investment and a gaggle of unrealistic supporters, who feel that sullied money is still money. Get on with it!
After their midweek reverse out in Athens, West Ham have reverted to type, and the XI that David Moyes feels most capable of a top six finish in the Premier League. Let’s hope that isn’t the top six London clubs, as there are only seven, and Hammers are only three points from that placement as these words travel from brain cell to electronic print.
In the repeat fixture last season Danny Ings, a desperately late transfer window signing, was making his debut. Late on in the game, as it turned out. An extended tribute of applause was offered to celebrate the lives of Bobby Charlton and Everton chairman Bill Kenwright. Last season it was offered to celebrate the life of Hammers’ joint chairman David Gold which had just been announced.
The rain, which had been constant for about two hours before the match, continued unabated. The game seemed to absorb and reflect the misery of the cold and damp afternoon and reflected the funereal tone throughout.
Apart from the suspended Emerson, this was near to West Ham’s strongest side possible, and yet the performance throughout was below that of Thursday’s effort against Olympiakos. Bowen was off the pace, Antonio looked tired, Kudus was like a mouse being chased by a small army of international sprinters, and Paquetá lost the ball more times than he won it, yelling at the referee so many times that he got booked, and will miss the forthcoming game against Brentford. Aguerd and Álvarez looked as though they had never played together before and Zouma seemed to have consumed a box of amphetamines past their sell-by date. Coufal and Cresswell were earnest, but rarely made any progress against a seasoned and experienced, if less-skilled, Everton defence.
When Everton’s Daniel Day-Lewis finally found a yard of space on the edge of the West Ham penalty area he hit it with My Left Foot. His unchallenged effort in the 51st minute gave Everton the lead in what was a generally miserable and disappointing match. All played badly. When Souček (who had been dropped) came on, a little organisation returned to the side, which was telling, even if it was too late to affect the outcome of the match.
This was the first time West Ham have not scored in a game this season, and the first time they’ve failed to find the net at home since Brentford’s visit in December 2022. So guess who they’re playing next Saturday?
13 Alphonse Areola, 3 Aaron Cresswell, 4 Kurt Zouma (captain), 5 Vladimir Coufal, 19 Edison Álvarez, 27 Nayef Aguerd, 7 James Ward Prowse, 11 Lucas Paquetá, 14 Mohammed Kudus, 20 Jarrod Bowen, 9 Michail Antonio
Substitutes: 28 Tomas Souček, 18 Danny Ings, 22 Saïd Benrahma
