Jake O’Brien’s late header saw Everton salvage a 1-1 draw against West Ham United and stretch their Premier League unbeaten run to nine matches.
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David Moyes was staring down the barrel of a defeat to his former club, but like he did against Brentford towards the end of February, O’Brien was on hand to earn a share of the spoils for the Toffees.
Tomas Soucek, who netted in West Ham’s 3-1 win in the corresponding fixture last season, broke the deadlock with a fine finish in the 67th minute at Goodison Park.
But Everton’s pressure told when O’Brien headed home from Idrissa Gueye’s volleyed centre in the 91st minute, and the hosts could then have won it with virtually the last kick of the game, only for Carlos Alcaraz to drag wide.
The draw moves Everton above Manchester United – who play on Sunday – into 14th, two places above West Ham courtesy of a better goal difference.
| Position Pos | Club | Played Pl | GD | Points Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 14 |
Everton
EVE
|
29 | -4 | 34 |
| 15 |
Man Utd
MUN
|
28 | -6 | 34 |
| 16 |
West Ham
WHU
|
29 | -16 | 34 |
| 17 |
Wolves
WOL
|
29 | -18 | 26 |
| 18 |
Ipswich
IPS
|
29 | -34 | 17 |
| 19 |
Leicester
LEI
|
28 | -37 | 17 |
| 20 |
Southampton
SOU
|
29 | -49 | 9 |
How the match unfolded
West Ham might have taken an early lead when James Ward-Prowse’s whipped corner flicked off Jarrad Branthwaite, but Jordan Pickford pulled off a stunning one-handed save to spare his team-mate’s blushes.
Jarrod Bowen forced Pickford into another good save in the 28th minute, though Everton thought they had a golden chance to go ahead when they were awarded a penalty on the stroke of half-time. However, referee Darren Bond overturned his decision after a VAR review, with Maximilian Kilman adjudged not to have fouled Beto.
But it was West Ham who struck first when Bowen danced between Everton’s defence and slipped it into Soucek, who duly curled a low effort into the right-hand corner.
Moyes threw on Armando Broja and Youssef Chermiti as Everton searched for an equaliser, with the latter seeing a strike well saved by Alphonse Areola. Alcaraz kept the move alive, though, floating a cross to the onrushing Gueye, whose first-time delivery was turned in by O’Brien.
Alcaraz looked set to complete a stunning turnaround three minutes later, but failed to keep his effort on target.
Moyes’ men just don’t give up
Moyes’ side arrived at Goodison Park brimming with confidence, the Scot freshly crowned Barclays Manager of the Month for February.
Everton’s manager, of course, knows West Ham better than most. He has led the Hammers in 198 Premier League matches across two spells between 2017 and 2024, and guided them to a European trophy less than two years ago.
But this was not a vintage performance from the Toffees. They created some half-chances in the first half, with Beto and Abdoulaye Doucoure failing to test Areola, who had to be alert to keep out a thumping O’Brien effort.
Playing out wide, Alcaraz found his influence limited, though, and it was telling that Everton improved once they had gone behind and Moyes moved the former Southampton playmaker central.
And under Moyes, Everton just do not give in. O’Brien was in the right place at the right time to cap off an excellent team move and extend the unbeaten run, in which they also came from behind to draw with Brentford and Liverpool.
Everton have matched their best unbeaten streak in the Premier League, which was previously set between December 2016 and February 2017, and are now 17 points above the relegation zone.
Rivals and league leaders Liverpool are next up, with April also featuring matches against Arsenal, Nottingham Forest, Manchester City and Chelsea.
Momentum stalls for the Hammers
West Ham had been flying in February, buoyed by consecutive wins over Arsenal and Leicester City. But their momentum stalled last time out, a 1-0 defeat to Newcastle United bringing Graham Potter’s side back down to earth.
Potter shuffled his starting line-up for the trip to Goodison Park, with Lucas Paqueta’s return from injury a boost, and West Ham will likely consider themselves unfortunate not to have gone into the break ahead, as they were frustrated by Pickford.
There was nothing Everton’s goalkeeper could do to deny Soucek the opener, though – the Czech showing once again just how crucial he is to West Ham’s attack.
Yet Potter’s team could not show the required resilience to hold out for all three points. They left Gueye in space in the area, and he punished them with that excellent ball back into the danger zone, with O’Brien’s markers unable to get there first.
Wolves are next up for West Ham, and Potter will be aiming for his team – who like Everton, are well clear of the bottom three – to round out the season in some confidence.
Club reports
Everton report | West Ham report
What the managers said
David Moyes: "Tomas Soucek is a really good goalscorer. We signed him as a goalscoring midfielder. He's great in both boxes. He's a top lad as well. I'm pleased for him but not for us.
"It was great to see Jake O'Brien get a goal. He's done really well. He's a young centre-back developing at right-back. He's got some really good attributes. What he needs is Premier League experience. He came up against top players today in Bowen and Kudus and did well."
Graham Potter: "Overall, a strong performance, it is what it is. We were thinking about it [bringing off Tomas Soucek before his goal]. We were making some adjustments. That's Tomas for you - pops in with the goals and defends boxes really well.
"We defended really well. I can't remember any chances they had. It was more pressure from their fans and balls into the box."
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Key facts
Everton and West Ham have drawn both meetings in a Premier League campaign for the first time since 2010/11.
All 17 of Soucek’s away Premier League goals have either put West Ham one goal in the lead (12) or drawn them level (5).
Moyes has never won in eight Premier League meetings with Potter (D6 L2) – the Scotsman has only faced Pep Guardiola more without ever winning in the competition (13).
