West Ham United vs Everton

COLLINS ON

David Moyes quite rightly brings on James Collins for Aaron Cresswell for what will likely be his last minutes with the double hammered crest on his shirt. The London Stadium rises to their feet to salute Collins in what is a truly touching moment.

CROSS

Aaron Cresswell whips in a cross from the left wing seeking to connect with several targets in the area, including the massive Marko Arnautovic! The pass is well placed, however Phil Jagielka tracks down the ball and makes a lovely clearance.

ADRIAN DOUBLE SAVE

Adrian makes a super double save to first deny Theo Walcott with a brilliant kick save. The follow up comes off just a few seconds afterwards as Oumar Niasse volleys a shot from the opposite side of the area that forces the keeper to make an instinctual diving save with his right hand to prevent the striker from finding the back of the net for the second time this evening.

LANZINI GOAL

Manuel Lanzini claims the ball down the left wing near the edge of the area and appears to hold up play waiting for his trailing teammates. Lanzini impatiently decides to have a go himself as he unleashes an incredible curling shot that bends perfectly to the top right corner. Jordan Pickford is able to get a hand on the effort, but his attempt is not enough as the ball still kisses off the inside of the far post and into the back of the net. The Hammers are up by the score of 3-1 on the visiting Toffees!

GOAL

Manuel Lanzini puts West Ham back up by two goals! They now lead by the score of 3-1!

LANZINI

Marko Arnautovic flicks a floated cross to the far post from the right side of the area and connects with Manuel Lanzini! Lanzini is quite surprised he is not flagged for offside and creatively tries to control the ball with an acrobatic trap, however his effort is ultimately unsuccessful as Jordan Pickford is able to charge out of goal to claim the loose ball.

NIASSE GOAL

The corner kick was swung in from the right flag and stood up to the far post. A flicked header back across the face of goal resulted in an absolute mad scramble to put the ball in the back of the net. Oumar Niasse finally found the ball at his feet and powered a shot with his right foot by Adrian. The score is now 2-1 West Ham with 15 minutes remaining!

GOAL

GOAL! Everton have cut West Ham's lead in half following a corner kick!

FERNANDES CROSS

Edimilson Fernandes plays a nearly perfect cut back cross from the left side of the box to an open Marko Arnautovic! The pass seems to be destined for the striker, however Seamus Coleman who clears the ball out of the area.

TOSUN OUT

Sam Allardyce removes a clearly unhappy Cenk Tosun from today's match and replaces him with Theo Walcott. Tosun, quite furious, avoids both his manager and assistant manager as he makes his way to the bench and throws down his shirt in disgust.

KLASSEN SHOT

A poor clearance by the Hammer's defense falls into the path of the advancing Davy Klaassen! Klaassen tries to power a volley from distance, but his effort lacks any real venom as it simply dribbles into the awaiting arms of Adrian standing at his right post.

CRESSWELL FREE KICK

A free kick in a dangerous area is taken by Aaron Cresswell. Cresswell's attempt is an inswinging shot taken with his left that makes it over the wall, but is struck far to hard as it sails over Jordan Pickford and his far right post.

EVERTON PUSHING FORWARD

It must be noted that Everton have certainly upped their game over the course of the early minutes of the second half. The Toffees virtually seem to be a brand new team as they have controlled the ball for almost the entirety of the past eight minutes and have begun to clearly challenge the Hammer's backline.

FORMATION CHANGE

With Ramiro Funes Mori coming off it seems that Sam Allardyce will be shifting Everton to more of a three back system in hopes of pushing more men upfield to find the tying goal.

SECOND HALF

The second half is underway at the London Stadium! It is now Everton that attack from left to right in their all blue kits. There was one change made at the break as Sam Allardyce takes off Ramiro Funes Mori in favor of the attacking Davy Klaassen.

DAVIES OFF

Everton string together a nice series of passes during a build up attack that results in Cenk Tosun laying the ball off to a flying Tom Davies. Davies' first touch is an absolute laser beam of a shot from distance that fizzes just over the cross bar and out for a goal kick.

GOAL

A lovely series of combination passes through the attacking third pulls and separates the Everton defence. Michael Keane is completely out of position as the final pass rolls to the edge of the box and Manuel Lanzini rifles a low driven shot with his left that picks out the bottom right corner of goal. Hammers are up 1-0 just before the break!

GOAL!

Manuel Lanzini capitalizes on some poor defending by Everton and puts the Hammers up by the score of 1-0!

NIASSE SHOT

Leighton Baines somehow finds Oumar Niasse in a tiny pocket of space at the edge of the area that allows Niasse to turn toward goal and fire another shot on target! This attempt is hit with power, but it is placed directly where Adrian is positioned which allows the keeper ample time to smother the low driven shot and halt play.

NIASSE SHOT

Oumar Niasse capitalizes on terrible error by Angelo Ogbonna and claims a loose ball at the edge of the area! Niasse charges into the area and fires a low shot on goal, but Adrian is there to block the strike with a perfectly timed dive.

LANZINI PASS

Manuel Lanzini tries to thread a ball through the Everton backline to a streaking Marko Arnautovic in the area! The pass is flicked ever so delicately and nearly picks out the striker, but an outstanding last gasp sliding block by Ramiro Funes Mori deflects the ball enough to allow Jordan Pickford time and space to charge off his line to claim possession.

MARIO MISS

A low driven shot from outside the area by Joao Mario nearly puts the Hammers out in front after the 25th minute! The effort was struck well and certainly caught Jordan Pickford off guard, however in the end the ball missed the far post by several inches to the right.

COLEMAN CROSS

Seamus Coleman charges to the endline and stands a cross up to the far post looking to connect with Cenk Tosun! The ball floats perfectly, but Tosun's jump is slightly miss-timed as the large Turk misses the header by a few inches and the Hammers defence clears the ball away from danger.

MASUAKU OFF

Unfortunately Arthur Masuaku will be forced out of this evening's game following the rough tackle by Ramiro Funes Mori as it appears that he picked up a calf injury. In his place David Moyes brings on Edimilson Fernandes, a player that often plays on the right side of the field but today will be located on the left.

FUNES MORI YELLOW

Ramiro Funes Mori cuts down Arthur Masuaku with a nasty scissor-like tackle in the midfield! The players immediately call for a yellow card and today's referee Graham Scott obliges the pleas and shows Funes Mori the first caution of the match.

NIASSE SHOT

Oumar Niasse blazes into the area down the right flank and levels a shot on target from close range! Adrian is in position, but completely misses the save with his hands and instead blocks the shot with his face which then immediately deflects off the post and out.

OFFSIDE

Aaron Cresswell swings in a cross from a free kick that finds the head of a flying Marko Arnautovic! The striker hammers the ball into the back of the net to seemingly put West Ham up by three goals, however the referee's whistle is blown as it is judged that the Austrian was offside when the pass was played.

GOAL

Marko Arnautovic has doubled the Hammers lead with a sensational strike!

ARNAUTOVIC GOAL

Marko Arnautovic received the ball well outside the area with his back to goal and somehow shook off his marking defender to find a small gap of space. The Austrian then rifled an absolutely incredible strike with the precision of IG-88, the bounty hunting droid from Star Wars. Jordan Pickford was left completely helpless as the ball whizzed over his outstretched hands and into the back of the net. The Hammers now lead 2-0!

SIGN OFF

Thank you for joining us for another incredible year of Premier League football! Please join us in August when the action kicks off on a new campaign that will surely be as exciting as the last.

FINAL ANALYSIS

Everton seemed to be working their way back into the match right after the break as they possessed the ball for much of the first 10 minutes, however their success did not last for long as Marko Arnautovic delivered a hammer blow to the momentum with a sensational goal from distance. The Toffees were able to find a goal just a few moments later, but ultimately the conceded once again due to poor defending and just as awful goalkeeping. In whole, this will be a season to forget for both of these clubs and they will welcome the 2018-19 season with open arms this August.

FINAL

The final whistle is blown and this game is over! West Ham take the three points with a resounding 3-1 victory over Everton.

KEANE TACKLE

Marko Arnautovic rambles into the box and seems to be in on goal, however Michael Keane comes out of nowhere to dispossess the forward at the edge of the six yard area. The Austrian goes to ground and immediately calls for a penalty kick, but today's official is unmoved as the tackle was clearly legal by Keane.

HALF ANALYSIS

Everton are clearly on the back foot after the opening forty-five minutes. The Toffees definitely had a few opportunities, but they failed to make the best of them as Adrian turned several prime scoring chances away with lovely saves. The Hammers, on the other hand, will be quite pleased with the opening half as they pressed the Everton backline time and time again until they finally broke through in the 39th minute. Marko Arnautovic, Manuel Lanzini, and Joao Mario have absolutely tormented the visitor's defense and will likely continue to do so in the second half.

HALF

The halftime whistle is blown and we go to the break with the Hammers on top by the score of 1-0!

JAGIELKA INJURY

Marko Arnautovic rampages his way into the area and tries to cut back through the trailing defenders on his right and left. Phil Jagielka and Seamus Coleman are lucky as the ball deflects off one of their feet allowing the Toffees backline to swing the ball away from the danger area, however Jagielka remains on the ground as him and the large Austrian striker collided following the clearance.

MARIO CROSS

Joao Mario works a beautiful give and go with a stationary Pablo Zabaleta just outside the area that sends Mario into space down the right wing. Mario lifts his head up and realizes his only choice is to attempt a cut back ball to the top of the box, however the pass is struck while the winger is off balance causing the pass to be easily intercepted by the Everton defense.

PICKFORD SAVE

Jordan Pickford comes up huge with a two successive saves! The first denied Marko Arnautovic of the opener and the second was absolutely spectacular. Arnautovic sent Mark Noble in alone at the edge of the six yard box. Noble hammered a low driven, right footed shot but the young English keeper made an impressive dive to his left to parry the attempt away. Fantastic!

WEST HAM UNITED v EVERTON

Todays' encounter at the London Stadium between West Ham United and Everton is an end of season dead rubber in which the score does not matter so much as the fate of the two managers in charge going forward. Their respective seasons will be regarded very much as swipe left and move on instanter. Both clubs started last August with high expectations of potentially cracking the top six, but found it necessary to change managers in mid-season after appaling starts. West Ham opted for ex Everton manager David Moyes while Everton chose ex West Ham manager Sam Allardyce, and neither have really hit the heights. At West Ham Moyes was entrusted with the minimum task of keeping the Hammers afloat in the top flight. He has done that, but not with any distinction, and the fans frustration boiled over in the home game demonstration when losing to Burnley. Last weeks victory at Leicester duly secured their status for next season, but only with two games remaining which would be a closer shave than the board would like. So the question is will Moyes remain with the London club next term? According to the Scot he will sit down with the Brass Hats next week and chew the fat. That does not sound too positive and one gets the feeling that this afternoons' game may well be his swan song. There is a similar story at Goodison Park with rumours rife of a clear out at all levels to be overseen by owner Moshiri after the last ball is kicked today. Sam Allardyce took the managerial seat coincidentally on the day of the Blues first meeting with the Hammers which they won 4 - 0. Since then Allardyce has been pretty successful resultswise, guiding the team to 8th with a top half finish guaranteed. With only one defeat (Manchester City) in the last 8 with a 15 point haul, you might expect all to be rosy on Merseyside. Not so!! Evertonians have a deep rooted antipathy to Sams' style of play, and reaction to it has ranged from the politely upturned nose at best to the absolute vitriolic. So will Big Sam be at Goodison next season? As with David Moyes the jury is out. But one thing is for sure, todays' result will not be a clincher in either case. EARLY TEAM NEWS Javier Hernandez is doubtful for West Ham with a knee injury Similarly Wayne Rooney is unlikely to feature due to his knee problem. However Theo Walcott could return after a calf injury. REFEREE Todays' referee will be Graham Scott from Oxfordshire officiating his 20th PL game of the season. So far he has handed out 46 yellow cards and 2 straight red, with 5 penalties awarded.