Moyes Gets point In Hammers Reunion

On Saturday afternoon, West Ham United bounced back from their home defeat to Newcastle United on Monday night. They came close to grabbing all three points on their final visit to Goodison Park but David Moyes and Everton were to be denied and the Hammers had to settle for one, as the game ended in a 1-1 draw. The result means that Head-Coach Graham Potter maintains his unbeaten record against the Scotsman.

Potter made three changes to the side that faced the Magpies five days earlier, as Konstantinos Mavropanos, Lucas Paquetá and Emerson Palmieri all came into the starting line-up in place of Oliver Scarles, Edson Álvarez and Aaron Cresswell, who dropped to the bench.

Although both teams started well, the Irons were determined not to make it easy for the side now managed by their former manager David Moyes, who has only lost one game since replacing Sean Dyche in January.

To be fair to the visitors, they made the Toffees work hard for possession and the travelling support had more to be excited about.

In the opening minutes, they earned a corner after good play from Palmieri. James Ward-Prowse delivered the set-piece into the box and it was almost put into his own net by home youngster Jarrad Branthwaite but thankfully, goalkeeper Jordan Pickford bailed him out and kept the game goalless.

Jean-Clair Todibo was presented with a chance to put his side in front as the ball fell to him but he unfortunately sent the opportunity over the bar. He had another chance not long after. However, on this occasion, the French defender fired the ball straight at Pickford.

Everton were trying to find a way back into the game and might have found a goal with only twenty minutes played but fortunately, a header from Carlos Alcaraz didn’t test visiting goalkeeper Alphonse Areola.

The hosts were given a corner but they couldn’t make it count. Beto was on the end of Vitalii Mykolenko’s delivery but the striker’s attempt was nowhere near the target.

Playing on the break was a trait of Moyes during his time in East London and it seems that Potter is a fan too. The visiting Head-Coach saw his side continually try this tactic throughout the first-half but they were unable to apply the finishing touch. Their latest move was started by Max Kilman but visiting captain Jarrod Bowen was unable to beat Pickford.

Areola faced his first test when he was worked by Jake O’Brien’s half volley. Thankfully for the travelling support the Frenchman was up to the task and managed to deny the Irishman.

Just before the break in this fixture just over a year ago, Everton were awarded a penalty and they thought that history had repeated itself when referee Darren Bond thought that Mavropanos had fouled Beto. Bond was advised by VAR to review his decision on the pitchside monitor. That he did and he reversed his original thought.

It was fair to say that the majority inside the stadium weren’t happy with the penalty being overturned but it gave the visitors a chance to regroup, going into the break.

West Ham were the better of the two sides at the start of the second-half and they had a great chance when Palmieri set up Bowen. The former Hull City winger tried an overhead kick but it didn’t come off and the chance had gone.

Bowen was at the heart of another attacking move from the Irons after the hour mark but he still failed to break the deadlock. He linked up well with Mohammed Kudus but Pickford was in the right place to keep him out.

I think we’d all agree that the Hammers had already shown enough in this game to erase Monday’s performance against the Magpies from their systems and with sixty seven minutes having been played, a goal arrived to emphasise that fact. Tomáš Souček fired past Pickford after Bowen had played the Czech midfielder in and the travelling support were delighted!!!

After that goal, the Claret and Blue Army might well have been celebrating a second in quick succession. After Pickford had made a save from Bowen, a clearance from the Toffees fell to Ward-Prowse but he was unable to beat the home stopper.

Potter made a late change with seven minutes of normal time left to play, as he took off Paquetá and brought on Carlos Soler.

The hosts looking as thoughthey would be about to suffer their first defeat since 15 January. In the seventy ninth minute, Moyes turned to the bench and sent on Tim Iroegbunam in place of James Garner. A while later, the youngster tried his luck, only for the attempt to go wide.

In the dying seconds of the match, the former Hammers’ boss preserved his current unbeaten run when O’Brien got the better of Areola as he headed home Idrissa Gueye’s cross.

Seconds later, there might have been more cheers from the home supporters but it was clear that the points would be shared when Alcaraz made a hash of his right-footed attempt.

Two more substitutions were made by West Ham, as both Guido Rodríguez and Evan Ferguson came on for Todibo and Kudus.

West Ham are now not in action until April 1, when they visit Molineux to face Wolverhampton Wanderers.