Everton 1-0 West Ham (Maupay 53′)
Neal Maupay’s first goal for Everton was enough to secure a first win of the season for Frank Lampard at a boisterous Goodison Park although his opposite number David Moyes was left contemplating a very different mood over the coming international break.
Defeat – West Ham’s fifth of the campaign and 11th in their last 18 league games dating back to last season – means Moyes’s side will enter October languishing in the bottom three.
With Europa Conference League fixtures having already added to West Ham’s workload, and provided not always welcome distractions, this was not a game Moyes could afford to lose.
And the veteran manager was left unimpressed by the efforts of some of his long-standing, established stars.
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“But today I found out little bits, mainly about the players I already knew about. They were the players in the main who let me down today with their play overall.
“We felt we were dipping down a bit last season, I probably recognised it in February time, that we weren’t quite as strong.
“But the truth is we got to a European semi-final and we were challenging for the top six until the last 20 minutes of the Premier League season so we weren’t dipping that far.
“I just sensed we needed new players and a lot of those players played today and I need them.”
— Sky Sports Premier League (@SkySportsPL) September 18, 2022
"HERE'S MAUPAYYYY"
Everton have the breakthrough and it is some goal from Maupay!pic.twitter.com/YagnW50Eom
In contrast, Lampard’s current mood was summed up on the whistle when he made a bee-line for his goalscorer and shared a long embrace – a simple gesture that reflected the importance of the win.
Maupay struck after 53 minutes, and following an instantly forgettable first half, when Alex Iwobi played a short, sharp pass that eluded Declan Rice and allowed the striker to take a tidy controlling touch.
The ball sat up nicely for the Frenchman, a Lampard signing who arrived at Goodison late in the summer window, and, with Thilo Kehrer failing to close him down, Maupay’s half-volley flew past Lukasz Fabianski from 16 yards.
It was Maupay’s first goal since February, a run of 12 games without one, and could not have been better timed for player and club alike.
“We brought him in for that reason, he’s a proven Premier League scorer,” said Lampard.
“We’ve had to play wingers as number nine and play with false nines and there were times in games with that bit of clinical finishing, we would have got more points.
“Without a goalscorer in the team you have to find other ways but he now gives us another dimension and you can see we’ve added a lot in the dressing room.”
A winless start to the campaign had raised question marks about Everton’s prospects this season, and even Lampard’s short-term job prospects, although there were few dissenting voices at a relieved Goodison Park on the final whistle yesterday.
Pre-match attention had been on the tributes to the late Queen Elizabeth and, as had been the case at several other places this weekend, the minute’s silence was marred by a small number of boos from the stands at Goodison.
Once underway, the football was forgettable until a much brighter start to the second half culminated in the goal and chances at both ends for the remainder of the contest.
The best fell to West Ham, who failed to score despite 14 goal attempts, and really should have rescued a point for Moyes on his return to Goodison.
Tomas Soucek met an Aaron Cresswell corner with a glancing header that bounced inches wide after 68 minutes and Said Benrahma went even closer five minutes later, when a superb Soucek tackle freed him to curl a 25-yard shot against the post.
The late pressure continued to come from the visitors and Begovic, deputising for the injured Jordan Pickford, made a fine late save to tip over an effort from Hammers sub Maxwel Cornet.
Player ratings
Everton
Asmir Begovic – Replaced the injured Jordan Pickford in Lampard’s starting line-up and made a smart save to keep out a well-struck Cornet effort late on and finger-tip a cross-shot from Bowen over the bar 7
Nathan Patterson – A constant presence on the right wing in West Ham’s half. The Scot is a willing runner and provides plenty of energy but still needs to finetune his attacking play. Got a vital touch just as it looked as though Cornet would equalise 7
Conor Coady – Made an important intervention to prevent Antonio from having a tap-in but was booked later on for bringing the West Ham forward down after being spun on the halfway line. Has struck up an impressive partnership with Tarkowski in the heart of defence 8
James Tarkowski – Brought the Goodison faithful to their feet with a bone-shuddering challenge on Antonio before making a superb block from a Bowen effort. Has slotted in nicely for his new club 8
Vitaliy Mykolenko – The Ukrainian is limited going forward but extremely solid at the back and did a good job of keeping Bowen subdued 7
Idrissa Gueye – Brought in for his second full debut in an Everton shirt after rejoining from PSG towards the end of the transfer window. The Senegalese brings an air of calm and authority to the midfield 7
Andre Onana – Rebuffed interest from West Ham in the summer in order to join Everton instead and showed why he is rapidly becoming a fan’s favourite at Goodison with an all-action display. 7
Alex Iwobi – A player transformed under Lampard, Iwobi’s driving runs from midfield are becoming a hallmark of this Everton side and it was he who played the ball into Maupay for the winner 8
Demarai Gray – Gordon’s exploits have overshadowed Gray’s form and he was by far the most dangerous attacker from either side on the day. The winger’s pace and trickery caused problems to both of West Ham’s full-backs. Unfortunate to not register an assist given the quality of his crosses into the box 8
Anthony Gordon – Unusually subdued and his frustration at not being more influential was clear when he needlessly hauled back Cornet. Replaced by Dwight McNeil with 15 minutes remaining. Not his day 5
Neal Maupay – Off the mark in an Everton shirt after smashing a superb strike beyond Fabianski from the edge of the box and that goal will do the summer signing from Brighton the world of good 7
Subs:
Dwight McNeil – Brought to provide some fresh legs as Everton held onto their lead 6
Abdoulaye Doucoure – Helped shore things up in the closing stages 6
Salomon Rondon – Too late to make an impact N/A
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Lukasz Fabianski – Nothing he could do about Maupay’s strike which flew past him at pace and otherwise solid 6
Vladimir Coufal – A willing runner on the right flank but lacked quality with his final pass 6
Thilo Kehrer – Has made an impressive start to his West Ham career and drew praise from Sky Sports commentator Jamie Carragher for his performance after making a perfectly timed tackle on Gray inside the box 7
Kurt Zouma – Drew a straightforward stop from Begovic with a clever header and provided West Ham’s main threat from set-pieces 7
Aaron Cresswell – Took a couple of dangerous set plays but lacked much of a threat from open play. Faces a fight to retain his place from summer signing Emerson 6
Tomas Soucek – Sloppy in possession and seems to have lost the attacking edge that defined his first 12 months as a West Ham player 6
Declan Rice – Not at his most influential best and when that happens West Ham’s chances of winning are naturally decreased. Cut a frustrated figure as the game ebbed away from his team 6
Jarrod Bowen – Snatched at a half-chance early on in the second half, lashing a half-volley over the bar on the spin. It’s the type of effort that would have nestled into the top corner last season. The England winger also had a shot blocked by Tarkowski to sum up another day of frustration. Almost set up Cornet for a late equaliser 6
Lucas Paqueta – Struggled with the pace of the game at times and guilty of taking one too many touch on occasion. Taken off on the hour mark after making a limited impact on the game 5
Pablo Fornals – Shoehorned into the starting line-up on the left wing to accomodate Paqueta, Fornals lacked his usual influence and was a peripheral figure. Like the Brazilian he was taken off after an hour 5
Michail Antonio – Picked ahead of Scamacca despite the Italian’s thunderbolt in Silkeborg and replaced by his fellow striker with 20 minutes to go. Looked dangerous on occasion but well marshalled by Coady and Tarkowski for the most part 6
Subs:
Said Benrahma – Rattled the inside of the post with a spectacular bending effort from long-range but showed why he is divisive player among West Ham’s fanbase by drifting a dreadful corner straight out of play 6
Maxwel Cornet – May have felt hard done by at being dropped after scoring and providing an assist in the Conference League on Thursday. Stung Begovic’s palms with a fierce effort but missed a glorious chance soon after. His impact should earn a starting spot after the international break 6
Gianluca Scammaca – Unable to get into the game and let his frustration get the better of him when he flew into a reckless challenge and sparked a melee late on after another aggressive challenge on Gueye 5
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