West Ham's dismal home run against Everton continued at the Boleyn this afternoon - although at least they managed to avoid defeat on this occasion.
In the last ten meetings between the two sides here, West Ham have beaten the Toffees just twice - and it took a penalty shootout in the FA Cup third round last season to secure one or those.Given that unhappy sequence, the squad could be forgiven for being happy with a draw. And in truth, it was the very least both sides deserved from a game in which neither excelled, nor looked particularly poor.
A veteran soldier was joined by 35,000 fans in a minutes' silence to mark Remembrance Day
West Ham drew first blood on the half hour mark with a goal of the month contender from Manuel Lanzini. The little Argentinian picked up the ball on the edge of the penalty box after a cross was only half cleared before steering it expertly into Tim Howard's top right corner.
The Everton goalkeeper, who loosely resembled a giant Stabilo marker pen in his all-fluorescent yellow kit had no chance with the perfectly placed strike - but rarely came close to being beaten again thereafter.
If anything has proved to be West Ham's Achilles Heel this season, it is their propensity to give away cheap goals by conceding possession cheaply. Sadly, that was to be the case once again here today.
With less than two minutes of the first half remaining Dimitri Payet - who had been moving gingerly since being upended by a dreadful challenge from James McCarthy ten minutes previously - gave the ball away deep in Evertonian territory.
Quick as a flash, the visitors broke and it was left to West Ham's nemesis Romelu Lukaku to round goalkeeper Adrian and pass the ball into an empty net, to score for the SEVENTH successive occasion against the Hammers.
One more point today to keep fighting in the top of the table!
Now time to recover & relax to be back stronger! #COYI ⚒
— Adrián San Miguel (@AdriSanMiguel) November 7, 2015Rookie referee Paul Tierney, who cautioned McCarthy for the aforementioned challenge when many other referees may have viewed it as a more serious offence did little to suggest he should be elevated to the Premier League rota on a regular basis.
As well as showing extreme leniency to the hosts following a string of 'earthy' challenges, he ended the first half just as Andy Carroll was racing through on a potential one-v-one situation - and then blew the final whistle at an equally bizarre moment, just as West Ham were preparing to launch one final attack from a dead ball situation.
Yet Tierney couldn't be blamed for West Ham's inability to open up an understrength Everton defence, missing the likes of England internationals Leighton Baines and Phil Jagielka.
Minus the injured Payet, who was withdrawn just five minutes into the second period the Hammers looked bereft of creativity and struggled to make inroads in the opposition half after Everton had restored parity.
Lads worked very hard today shame we didn't get the 3 points, was a tough game. Thanks for all your support
— Victor Moses (@VictorMoses) November 7, 2015For their part, the Toffees only really threatened Adrian on one further occasions, that being when Lukaku's effort slammed into the side netting when it appeared easier for him to hit the target. Thankfully, he does occasionally miss against West Ham too.
The point takes West Ham back above Tottenham into fifth place in the Premier League, although Spurs have a game in hand. The two London rivals are set to meet each other following the forthcoming international break, a game that promises to be one of the most tightly-contested derbies for some years.
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