The minute’s silence was repeatedly broken by boos from the home fans. His quick response away from home was a profane request to shut up, a sign of the lack of imagination in the passing of Everton and West Ham. Overall, the atmosphere at Goodison Park was largely subdued as fans saw a team without their No.9, Dominic Calvert-Lewin, who is yet to feature this season, or Jordan Pickford, also injured. The fiery atmosphere that helped keep Everton in the league last season has been replaced by dread and fear. Fans arrived with hope rather than expectation and were rewarded for their commitment. There are a lot of nerves at Goodison Park. every misstep in the early stages was greeted with a mixture of sighs and groans. Supporters fear a repeat of last year’s battle for survival. Hearts were a little faster when Jarrod Bowen entered the penalty area and sent a cross into the six yard box. Everton captain Conor Coady was toed before colliding with Asmir Begovic as they watched the ball bounce inches wide rather than into the back of the net. Despite not scoring more than once in a game this season, there is no shortage of attacking talent in Everton’s ranks. Demarai Gray caused problems for both sides. First he fired in a dangerous cross from the left that beat everyone, and he was soon following down the right after bamboozling the defender with a magnificent footwork. He took the next free kick, but Amadou Onana could only head it over. West Ham looked more subdued, possibly driven by the distraction from their domestic form in the Europa Conference League, where they managed a couple of wins against Romania’s FCSB and Denmark’s Silkeborg. They could at least claim to have enjoyed the only two late-first-half efforts: two of the softest headers imaginable, which Begovic could have saved with his eyes closed. Things could only get better. West Ham’s Maxwell Cornet reacts in disbelief after missing a chance to equalise. Photo: Isaac Parkin/PA It was always going to be Gray who had the first shot on target for Everton. It took him 49 minutes to see the goal, and when he did he should have done better. Starting the second half on the left, he dribbled and cut inside the full-back only to cut a shot straight at Lukasz Fabianski. The important thing was that he showed intent. Maupay had spent the afternoon ineffective as the last Calvert-Lewin replacement. He rarely made the right run for teammates, but when it mattered he found the back of the net. Alex Iwobi played the ball to the Frenchman, who took a touch on the edge of the box to control the ball, turned and fired a right-footed shot with the second. The subdued nature of Goodison was forgotten as each stop erupted in unison. Will and intent finally aligned for Everton, putting West Ham on the back foot. Gray further strengthened his side by taking a rare lead, causing constant problems for Vladimir Coufal. The winger whipped in a cross from six yards, but no one could greet it with the touch required to double the lead. Start your evenings with the Guardian’s view of the world of football Privacy Notice: Newsletters may contain information about charities, online advertising and content sponsored by external parties. For more information, see our Privacy Policy. We use Google reCaptcha to protect our website and Google’s Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply. After a carefree 20 minutes after the goal, nerves returned to the stands with fans desperate for Everton to see things through. Their fears were not allayed when substitute Saïd Benrahma picked up a loose ball 25 yards from goal, took it from his feet and slotted home. A statuesque Begovic was beaten but relieved to hear a ping in the silence as the ball hit the inside of a post and bounced clear. Maxwel Cornet had two good chances to equalise, but a mix-up between Begovic and Nathan Patterson prevented him from scoring. Everton held on and few in the ground cared how.
