Everton vs West Ham United. Premier League.
Goodison ParkAttendance39,000.
Saturday 5 March 2016 18:24, UK
Dimitri Payet's 90th-minute goal saw West Ham come back to beat 10-man Everton 3-2 in a thrilling game at Goodison Park.
Everton had burst into a two-goal lead when Romelu Lukaku and Aaron Lennon scored either side of what was to prove a costly red card to Kevin Mirallas.
It looked as though the home side would cope with that setback and they should have ended the match as a contest with a penalty 20 minutes from time, but Lukaku saw his effort saved by Adrian.
Instead, West Ham took that as their cue for recovery and headed goals from Michail Antonio and substitute Diafra Sakho saw parity restored before Payet converted from close range for all three points.
The win is West Ham's third in a row and means they go above Manchester United and into fifth in the Premier League table, eight points behind leaders Leicester City.
Everton, meanwhile, remain 11th but have now only won one of their past four home matches and their extension of that sequence will be of deep concern to manager Roberto Martinez.
The loss of Mirallas was a major factor; having already received a disputable booking for diving he made the poor decision to challenge Aaron Cresswell on the slide and was inevitably dismissed.
But his loss did not seem to hurt Everton, who were already in front after Lukaku had turned Reece Oxford on the edge of the box and planted a left-footed shot past Adrian and extended that advantage when the Belgian played a one-two with Lennon, who tucked his shot coolly under the goalkeeper.
Lukaku was given the opportunity to make it 3-0 when substitute Muhamed Besic wriggled into space on the edge of the box and went down under a challenge from Alex Song, which referee Anthony Taylor deemed to be inside the line.
Adrian saved it and 10 minutes later Antonio had the ball in the net, powerfully heading in Mark Noble's left-wing cross.
It revitalised West Ham and was a major blow for an Everton side who had competed well for 44 minutes with a man fewer than their opponents.
Their fatigue was exposed two minutes later when Sakho provided a similarly firm header for the equaliser, this time putting away a Payet cross from the opposite wing.
Payet had been quiet throughout Everton's periods of dominance but laid on that vital ball and then showed his predatory instincts to mop up the winner.
West Ham have made a name for themselves as purveyors of passing football this season but their winning goal was pure route one - a direct ball headed on by Andy Carroll and flicked into the path of Payet by Sakho.
You get the impression, however, that they won't mind.
Player ratings
Everton: Robles (6), Stones (6), Jagielka (6), Funes Mori (6), McCarthy (7), Barkley (6), Coleman (6), Oviedo (5), Lennon (7), Mirallas (4), Lukaku (7)
Subs used: Besic (6), Niasse (5), Barry (5)
West Ham: Adrian (7), Kouyate (6), Oxford (5), Ogbonna (6), Antonio (6), Noble (6), Obiang (5), Cresswell (7), Lanzini (6), Payet (7), Emenike (6)
Subs used: Carroll (6), Song (6), Sakho (6)
Man of the match: Dimitri Payet
