Posted: 13:07, 18 September 2022 | Updated: 16:40, 18 September 2022
In those few moments after the whistle went and the music started, Frank Lampard moved with the freedom you associate with relief. The Everton manager has been working hard to change the landscape at Goodison Park and the positive buzz has been coming in recent weeks, but Lampard is well aware of the struggles of football and knows that good feelings are only sustained by victories. So by the seventh time asked, it was clear what that 1-0 triumph over West Ham meant to Lampard, who proudly paraded down Gwladys Street and pumped his fists excitedly at the crowds behind the goal in which Neal Maupay had swelled to the decisive strike. Neil Maupai’s second-half goal gave Everton a 1-0 win against West Ham at Goodison Park. The Frenchman fired past the hosts to earn Frank Lampard his first championship win of the season It wasn’t a classic, but that didn’t matter to Lampard, whose side had done enough to earn a win that lifted Everton into the middle of the table and allowed them to enjoy the international break. For David Moyes, however, the feelings couldn’t be more varied. Back at the place they once called home, it would feel like West Ham did enough to steal something from a spoiling game, but the evidence of their performance would tell you otherwise. Moyes must now contemplate a fifth defeat in seven Premier League games, a sequence unusual given the metronomic manner in which West Ham racked up points last season and at one stage threatened to sneak into the Champions League places. They are a team in a state of flux. Substitute Said Benrahma almost salvaged a point for West Ham but could only hit the post If only they had started the way they finished the game, closing Everton back and causing Lampard to jump in frustration as his overworked defenders did their best to fend off the pressure. Inactivity was West Ham’s downfall. Everton were also slow out of the blocks but turned it around. The fast start to the second period was as far from the first half as we could have imagined. How best to describe the events before the break? Relentless suffering would be a start, but even then, it doesn’t do it justice. To give you an idea of how poor it all was, the passage of play between the 38th and 42nd minutes captured it nicely as both sides took it in turns to hand over possession, treating the ball like it was a hot potato and refusing to show anything. balance. It was more disappointing for the Irons, who again struggled in front of goal When Everton finally won a free-kick, Lampard’s assistant Ashley Cole broke out of the penalty area and motioned for his forwards to attack the back post when Anthony Gordon fired home. . It really was so thankless and what made it so strange was the fact that the game was there to be won – it just took one of these teams to be assertive, have a bit of belief and chances were chances would come. So it turned out. Everton took the initiative and it was no surprise that Demarai Gray stepped up. The winger had been buzzing on the touchline but just needed the right serve to cut it out and, in the 49th minute, he burst into the West Ham box and raced home a shot that Lukasz Fabianski was able to gather. Lampard enters the international break on a six-match unbeaten run in all competitions The West Ham keeper wasn’t too tested to deal with it, but there was a chain reaction and, suddenly, there was life in those famous old stands and the noise picked up considerably – and so did Everton’s pace of play. And in the next attack they plundered the goal that turned out to be decisive. Vitalii Mykolenkp sent a pass to Alex Iwobi, who in turn pushed forward to Maupay. The Frenchman’s control saw the ball rise and, in a flash, he slotted past Fabianski. Follow the Sportsmail live blog for all the updates from the Premier League clash between Everton and West Ham, written by BEN WILLCOCKS.
