detroiturk15
Player Valuation: £2.5m
7/11/2015 - West Ham 1-1 Everton (Lanzini 30’, Lukaku 43’)
For a matchup with a team that is above Everton in the league, the Toffees more than held their own against a hot West Ham team having a start as excellent as they could have asked for in the summer after hiring Slaven Bilic. Everton’s form has been middling as of late, so one could argue it was a good point away from home for the Blues. Having said that, the balance of play definitely made this match one that could have gone either way - a game that reminded me of last season’s home match against the same opponents.
Martinez named an unchanged lineup, very justifiable given how well the Kone-Lukaku partnership worked last weekend against Sunderland. The early stages of the match laid out a plan for the entirety, as both teams tested out the keeper in the first twenty minutes. Perhaps the best chance of that time came to a dangerous Victor Moses, who put a shot into the side netting after three minutes. Ramiro Funes Mori had a penalty shout turned down after eighteen minutes after Winston Reid barely nicked the ball away, and Kone missed the target by some distance with Lukaku square a couple minutes later. A wasteful game from Kone, who didn’t quite hit the heights of last week’s excellent hat trick.
Around the half hour mark, Gerard Deulofeu found his way into the game. Twisting and turning, his shot almost crept into the near post. However, both teams had periods of domination during the match, and during West Ham’s best spell of the match, they found their goal. A deflected ball that originally stuck the arm of Gareth Barry fell into the path of Manuel Lanzini, and the ON LOAN midfielder nestled an excellent shot into the top right corner for the first goal Everton’s conceded this season not directly related to Tim Howard’s antics in goal. A goal that West Ham probably deserved given how well Payet and Moses had been playing to that point, and it was Payet that McCarthy scissored into for a yellow card. The tackle was probably not worthy of a red, but McCarthy did well to avoid further punishment throughout the rest of the match.
At times, the attack looked a little stagnant, but all it took for Everton to draw level was a brilliant ball from Deulofeu. Splitting both center halves, the supplier from Spain found Lukaku, who for the second game in a row rounded the keeper and scored easily. The Belgian made it seven goals in seven games against West Ham, which I am all for him continuing for eternity. Either way, it was a deserved 1-1, thanks to Deulofeu’s ability to make those killer passes we as supporters have called out for since before Martinez got here. His form over the last few matches have justified the gamble of paying four million pounds in the summer, and as Evertonians we can only hope that Barcelona looks the other way.
The second half was full of back and forth, and neither team really found a breakthrough. Barkley wasted a couple of free kicks in good positions, which is frustrating given Deulofeu’s sparkler at Reading. Payet went off injured after 50 minutes, which turned West Ham’s attack into long balls for Moses to run onto. Funes Mori picked up a yellow for another hard tackle on Moses. The color commentator on the match here in the US (whose name eludes me at the time of writing) was again calling for a sending off on a yellow card-worthy tackle. The referee had an excellent match in my view, as advantages were played and fouls were given at a good rate. Mirallas came on for Kone, and while he didn’t impact the match in a decisive way, it was a step in the right direction for a player trying to make it back into the first team.
Corners were ineffective throughout, so it was tough to get excited in the later stages of the match for Deulofeu’s work down the right side. On West Ham’s side, Reid came close on a corner after 73 minutes, but that was pretty much as close as either side came to a goal for the remainder of the match. The last ten or so minutes were controlled by the men in blue, but once Mirallas’s shot was collected in the last couple minutes, it was always going to end all square.
Ratings
Howard - 6. Didn’t do anything stupid this time.
Coleman - 7. More involved in the attack.
Stones - 7. Dealt with Carroll well.
Funes Mori - 6. Occasionally shaky.
Galloway - 5. Couldn’t handle Moses, partly at fault for goal.
Barry - 6. Fewer games have helped him.
McCarthy - 6. Yellow card rendered him largely ineffective.
Deulofeu - 8. Those passes can win matches in most cases.
Barkley - 7. Had to deal with Kouyate, which isn’t easy.
Kone - 5. Largely ineffective, as mentioned.
Lukaku - 7. Held up the ball occasionally.
Subs -
Mirallas - 7. Looked to move the ball forward.
Lennon - 6. Not enough time.
Martinez - 6. Going for the draw late on may be an alright idea come the end of the season.
For a matchup with a team that is above Everton in the league, the Toffees more than held their own against a hot West Ham team having a start as excellent as they could have asked for in the summer after hiring Slaven Bilic. Everton’s form has been middling as of late, so one could argue it was a good point away from home for the Blues. Having said that, the balance of play definitely made this match one that could have gone either way - a game that reminded me of last season’s home match against the same opponents.
Martinez named an unchanged lineup, very justifiable given how well the Kone-Lukaku partnership worked last weekend against Sunderland. The early stages of the match laid out a plan for the entirety, as both teams tested out the keeper in the first twenty minutes. Perhaps the best chance of that time came to a dangerous Victor Moses, who put a shot into the side netting after three minutes. Ramiro Funes Mori had a penalty shout turned down after eighteen minutes after Winston Reid barely nicked the ball away, and Kone missed the target by some distance with Lukaku square a couple minutes later. A wasteful game from Kone, who didn’t quite hit the heights of last week’s excellent hat trick.
Around the half hour mark, Gerard Deulofeu found his way into the game. Twisting and turning, his shot almost crept into the near post. However, both teams had periods of domination during the match, and during West Ham’s best spell of the match, they found their goal. A deflected ball that originally stuck the arm of Gareth Barry fell into the path of Manuel Lanzini, and the ON LOAN midfielder nestled an excellent shot into the top right corner for the first goal Everton’s conceded this season not directly related to Tim Howard’s antics in goal. A goal that West Ham probably deserved given how well Payet and Moses had been playing to that point, and it was Payet that McCarthy scissored into for a yellow card. The tackle was probably not worthy of a red, but McCarthy did well to avoid further punishment throughout the rest of the match.
At times, the attack looked a little stagnant, but all it took for Everton to draw level was a brilliant ball from Deulofeu. Splitting both center halves, the supplier from Spain found Lukaku, who for the second game in a row rounded the keeper and scored easily. The Belgian made it seven goals in seven games against West Ham, which I am all for him continuing for eternity. Either way, it was a deserved 1-1, thanks to Deulofeu’s ability to make those killer passes we as supporters have called out for since before Martinez got here. His form over the last few matches have justified the gamble of paying four million pounds in the summer, and as Evertonians we can only hope that Barcelona looks the other way.
The second half was full of back and forth, and neither team really found a breakthrough. Barkley wasted a couple of free kicks in good positions, which is frustrating given Deulofeu’s sparkler at Reading. Payet went off injured after 50 minutes, which turned West Ham’s attack into long balls for Moses to run onto. Funes Mori picked up a yellow for another hard tackle on Moses. The color commentator on the match here in the US (whose name eludes me at the time of writing) was again calling for a sending off on a yellow card-worthy tackle. The referee had an excellent match in my view, as advantages were played and fouls were given at a good rate. Mirallas came on for Kone, and while he didn’t impact the match in a decisive way, it was a step in the right direction for a player trying to make it back into the first team.
Corners were ineffective throughout, so it was tough to get excited in the later stages of the match for Deulofeu’s work down the right side. On West Ham’s side, Reid came close on a corner after 73 minutes, but that was pretty much as close as either side came to a goal for the remainder of the match. The last ten or so minutes were controlled by the men in blue, but once Mirallas’s shot was collected in the last couple minutes, it was always going to end all square.
Ratings
Howard - 6. Didn’t do anything stupid this time.
Coleman - 7. More involved in the attack.
Stones - 7. Dealt with Carroll well.
Funes Mori - 6. Occasionally shaky.
Galloway - 5. Couldn’t handle Moses, partly at fault for goal.
Barry - 6. Fewer games have helped him.
McCarthy - 6. Yellow card rendered him largely ineffective.
Deulofeu - 8. Those passes can win matches in most cases.
Barkley - 7. Had to deal with Kouyate, which isn’t easy.
Kone - 5. Largely ineffective, as mentioned.
Lukaku - 7. Held up the ball occasionally.
Subs -
Mirallas - 7. Looked to move the ball forward.
Lennon - 6. Not enough time.
Martinez - 6. Going for the draw late on may be an alright idea come the end of the season.
