West Ham came within seconds of climbing out of the relegation zone but ended bottom of the table after a 2-2 draw at Everton on Saturday.
Avram Grant’s men took the lead through Jonathan Spector in the first half and defended stoically until substitute Diniyar Bilyaletdinov equalised with15 minutes to go.
Frederic Piquionne’s elation at scoring what he thought was the winner was wiped away by a red card for a second bookable offence. But the goal still looked like a decisive one, which would have lifted the Hammers out of the bottom three.
But, with seconds remaining, Marouane Fellaini ensured the points would be shared with a composed finish in injury time.The first half was equally balanced with both teams going close.
But as it seemed the home side would take control of the game, Spector arrived in the area to score his first Premier League goal of the season.
After some neat work from Mark Noble and a composed pull back from Luis Boa Morte, Spector was on hand to smash the ball past Tim Howard to silence the home crowd.Everton’s players were booed off the pitch after a dismal first half performance. But West Ham’s inability to add to their narrow lead kept the hosts in the game. Everton broke through 13 minutes from time in emphatic fashion after Fellaini nodded the ball into Bilyaletdinov’s path who drilled past Robert Green to set up a dramatic finish.Just as it seemed the onus was on the home side to get the win, Wayne Bridge crossed for Piquionne who capped a superb performance with a glancing header into the Everton net.
The sheen was taken off the moment by the goal scorer’s sending off – Piquionne had been booked minutes before the goal for an off the ball incident. Peter Walton then gave the striker his marching orders for an over-zealous celebration. West Ham’s opportunity to escape the relegation zone was snatched away by Fellaini in the 90th minute.
Jack Rodwell headed the ball into the towering Belgian’s path who neatly finished to save a point for his side.
Sat 22 January, 2011
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