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Everton 2 – 2 West Ham

Struggling West Ham ended a run of six straight defeats by earning a deserved and vital point at in-form Everton. Diniyar Bilyaletdinov headed Everton into a first-half lead that keeper Tim Howard preserved by saving a penalty from Mido after a foul on Carlton Cole. West Ham were rewarded for their second half endeavour when Manuel Da Costa bundled in to level from a corner. Everton substitute Yakubu's late header seemed to have won it, but two minutes later Araujo Ilan squared the match. The point is a hard-earned but fully warranted reward for Gianfranco Zola's struggling Hammers, who after a first half in which nothing went right for them, rallied in the second and looked far from a side who prior to this game had lost a club record six successive Premier League games. During a frustrating first half, the West Ham boss cut an exasperated figure on the Goodison Park touchline as his side not only allowed a largely under-par Everton to take the lead with their first - and a rare - effort on goal but proved their own worst enemy by wasting an opportunity to draw level from the spot. Bilyaletdinov's opener could have been avoided had Jonathan Spector's headed clearance from a Leighton Baines cross been better but instead it allowed Tim Cahill to nod the ball back into the six-yard box where the Russian was lurking to glance a header of his own past Robert Green. Mido's penalty, awarded after Cole had tumbled following a tangle of legs with Toffees defender Sylvain Distin, was tame and Howard was able to palm it past the post with relative ease. However, after the break West Ham emerged a transformed side with the bit between their teeth and took the game to their opponents with the fight and desperation you would expect from a side in their predicament. That they came back from a goal down not once but twice demonstrates a spirit many thought had deserted the Upton Park ranks and suggests they are fully equipped with the qualities they need to avoid dropping out of the division. On the hour their new-found belief was rewarded when Da Costa muscled his way through a body of players to bundle the ball home after Cole and Cahill had challenged ineffectively for it from a corner It sparked an enthralling final half hour, in which Cole dragged an effort wide for the visitors and Louis Saha saw a penalty shout waved away for the home side after he fell under a tackle from Da Costa, before Yakubu headed home a pinpoint left-wing cross from Baines to seemingly earn Everton their eighth successive home league win. However, two minutes later Julien Faubert delivered a superb cross from the right and substitute Ilan threw himself forward and head home to earn the Hammers what could be a crucial point. But it comes at a cost for West Ham, who will be without influential midfielder Scott Parker, who put in a towering performance here, for the next two matches because of suspension after collecting his 10th booking of the season for a lunging tackle on Cahill. Source: BBC

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DISCLAIMER: The Views, Comments, Opinions, Contributions and Statements made by Readers and Contributors on this platform do not necessarily represent the views or policy of Multimedia Group Limited.