A Romelu Lukaku strike at the death has given Everton a 2-1 win away at West Ham United in their Premier League clash at Upton Park.
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The visitors were quickest out of the starting block as Leon Osman saw his effort from the edge of the box tipped around the post by Adrian. From the corner, John Stones and James McCarthy failed to make the most of their shots.
West Ham countered through Aaron Cresswell, who forced a corner after his shot was fumbled by Tim Howard, followed by two unanswered penalty shouts as McCarthy and Seamus Coleman were alleged to have handled the ball.
Both sides continued to trade blows, but the best effort of the first half came courtesy of Romelu Lukaku, who cut inside onto his left foot on the half-hour mark before curling the ball narrowly over the bar.
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In the 34th minute, Stewart Downing then came close to opening the scoring when he cut in from the right, charged towards the Everton defence and forced a save from Howard.
Despite a lively first half, neither side was able to break the deadlock come the half-time whistle, but this soon changed when Alex Song found Downing in the box and the England winger coolly placed the ball past Howard to give the West Ham the lead.
Everton did not take long to level proceedings, however, as Leon Osman controlled Lukaku's cross in the 68th minute before swivelling to shoot past Adrian and into the net.
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Moments later Ross Barkley had a chance to put his side into the lead, but he blasted his audacious shot over the bar.
Just as it seemed as though the game would finish all square, Aiden McGeady's cross from the right was met by Lukaku, who got the better of Reece Burke and headed in powerfully from six yards out to snatch all three points for the Toffees.
The result has little bearing on either side's season although Everton leapfrog West Ham into 10th place in the Premier League table.
Giuseppe Labellarte
