West Ham Compound Everton Woes With 2-0 Spanking
West Ham manager David Moyes says his side’s crucial victory against Everton was “a relief” for the club, but does not believe the board want to get rid of him.
The match cruelly dubbed ‘El Sackico’ was settled by a first-half double from Jarrod Bowen.
Like Lampard, it had been suggested Moyes would lose his job if West Ham lost.
“I still believe it is something the board didn’t want to do, to make changes,” said Moyes.
“I have a board behind me who are supportive and who have backed me.
“I really hope Everton stick with Frank. He is a top bloke from the times I’ve been with him, but I have to think about my position because me winning one game doesn’t mean everything is fine.”
Under-fire Everton owner Farhad Moshiri was attending his first game in 14 months, alongside the directors who missed last week’s home defeat by Southampton because of what Everton said was a “real and credible” threat to their safety, in a show of support for Lampard and defiance of his critics.
But his return didn’t bring Everton any luck. They have now gone 10 games without a win in all competitions and have picked up a single point – at Manchester City – in a run of seven games that has included five defeats against teams around them in the relegation battle.
The final whistle brought more boos from the Everton contingent and also banners being raised proclaiming ‘Sack the Board’ and ‘No Communication, No Plan, No Vision’.
Managers are forever talking about the fine margins that make the difference between success and failure.
Bowen’s opener could not have been finer. On first glance, it appeared he was offside as he advanced on to Kurt Zouma’s header to knock the ball past Jordan Pickford. But VAR spotted James Tarkowski’s leg was playing the England man on by about an inch.
If trials agreed by the International Football Association Board are successful, next season the supporters inside the ground may get an actual explanation Instead, they had to make do with referee Stuart Atwell pointing to the centre circle.
Having gone 12 games without a goal, Bowen’s next arrived seven minutes later as Tarkowski dived into a tackle on Michail Antonio in a position of little danger, allowing the West Ham forward to run into the box and deliver a low cross which was driven home from close range.
Had Alex Iwobi pulled one back before the break with a shot that was going in until it deflected off Declan Rice, then on to a post, Everton might have found a way back into the contest.
But, having established a crucial advantage, West Ham were not in the mood to let it go.
“The only difference between this and the other performances was scoring two goals,” said Moyes.
“We have had a couple of extraordinary years and we are all disappointed that we haven’t hit that height this year, but we need time for some players to settle in. Hopefully we can build that team and are on the right track now.”
