Everton 1 West Ham Utd 1WHILE A SENSE of potential is invigorating West Ham, it is impeding Everton. The Londoners have been given an injection of vitality by a pair of teenagers but for Everton the possibilities of a fourth-place finish have served only as a constraint.
The tension affected their fans and players alike on Saturday evening and a carefree West Ham profited. "Anxiety will happen but that's because we are doing well and the crowd want us to keep doing well," said David Moyes.
Anguish in the stands was accompanied by anger directed at the referee, Mark Halsey, for disallowing what would have been Yakubu Ayegbeni's second goal and 20th of the season. Replays proved the Nigerian was onside and the decision marked a turning point, yet Moyes was sufficiently aware of his team's second-half shortcomings not to claim that they deserved the three points.
The Everton manager's assessment of Victor Anichebe's display - "in the first half he did well; second half he wasn't so good" - could have applied to his entire team.
Moyes's mood was perhaps boosted by the €193,000 or so victory in the libel case with Wayne Rooney. When costs are factored in, HarperCollins, the publishers of Rooney's autobiography, My Story So Far, face a bill that could exceed €642,000.
In Everton's defence they were below strength, deprived of Andrew Johnson, Steven Pienaar and Joseph Yobo, and their resources were further stretched when Tim Cahill's comeback was curtailed after 10 minutes, the replacement options being a semi-fit Manuel Fernandes and Tony Hibbert, a right back whose 194 career appearances have not yielded a goal. Though Thomas Gravesen was on the bench, he was not even considered.
As exhaustion set in, West Ham's reserves of energy - indeed, their reserves with energy - prevailed. And it was the men from mid-table, their weekly injury bulletin notwithstanding, who boasted options, the most intriguing of them lending a futuristic look to their side.
While Everton's focus on the short term is undiluted, West Ham can take a broader view. "I've got to have one hand on trying to win Premier League matches and another on the future of the club," said manager Alan Curbishley.
That entailed the introduction of the 18-year-old James Tomkins for his debut. The central defender soon struck the bar and then erred for Everton's goal. "Yakubu rolled him," said Curbishley. But the Nigerian finished forcefully. Yet after an eventful but chastening opening, Tomkins recovered admirably.
He forms part of a youthful collective in an East End union that finds favour with its customers. "I came down to breakfast and three of them were sitting round the table, [ Jack] Collison, Freddie Sears and James Tomkins," Curbishley said. "Then [ Mark] Noble came down and he was like the shop steward because he's a year older than them; I thought he was taking their subs."
The apprentices are being schooled in the way of things at Upton Park and one has already shown a propensity to strike. Sears, their match-winner against Blackburn nine days ago, rolled a shot against a post during a sparkling cameo.
There is an endearingly old-fashioned element to West Ham's faith in youth, mirrored in their support. "Mark Noble's is the biggest-selling shirt in the club shop because he's home-grown," said Curbishley. "It's as simple as that." Given Noble's intelligent repertoire of an inside° forward's skills, sheer locality should not be the sole reason for his popularity.
In the company of such ingenus, Dean Ashton approaches veteran status. The 24-year-old's equaliser, headed in emphatically from Lucas Neill's cross, was almost overshadowed as Sears displayed pace and promise in equal measure. Noble, seemingly inspired, whistled a late long-range shot over the bar.
Adventurousness can be infectious but, as Everton know, anxiety is equally contagious as we approach the business end of the season .
