Maupay Hammers home to hand Toffees maiden win
The Hammers had scored just three goals after their first six league games, so perhaps it wasn’t a surprise that they seriously lacked a cutting edge going forward. Kurt Zouma’s looping header on the stroke of HT was comfortably caught by Asmir Begović, who was far from busy in the first half deputising for the injured Jordan Pickford. The same could be said of Everton though, who failed to register a single shot on target before the break. Demarai Gray and Amadou Onana showed glimpses of quality, but their threat going forward dissipated as the half went on.
Luckily for the Goodison Park faithful, there was some notable action after the resumption. Gray cut in from the left only to fire straight at Łukasz Fabiański, before Frank Lampard’s men finally produced some quality and broke the deadlock. Alex Iwobi split the lines to find Maupay, who turned and unleashed a snapshot that rifled into the bottom corner. A first goal since mid-February for the Frenchman raised his side’s performance level, and with momentum firmly with the hosts, the influential Gray was unfortunate not to create a goal when his cross flashed across the face of goal, but evaded a touch from anybody and flew out of play.
West Ham needed a response after an abject showing in the first 70 minutes. Substitute Saïd Benrahma nearly found them an unlikely equaliser, as he was allowed too much space outside the box before his shot rattled the post. Maxwel Cornet was next to go close, as he sprinted free on the left before firing at goal, only for Begović to tip over.
Everton were able to hold on, with their new centre-back partnership of Conor Coady and James Tarkowski providing the experience and solidity necessary to hold the Hammers off. A maiden victory for Lampard’s men leaves Leicester City as the only PL side without a win, and the Toffees are unbeaten in eight of their last 10 games on their own ground. Meanwhile, West Ham remain in the bottom three, winning just one of their first seven league games, scoring just three goals - the joint-lowest number in the division.
Flashscore Man of the Match: Demarai Gray (Everton)