Source: Daily_Mail
Everton 2 West Ham 2: Hammers fans want misfit Mido sent off!
Gianfranco Zola and his players can consider themselves safe from another David Sullivan rant after twice coming from behind to end a sixgame losing streak and add a precious point to their survival campaign at Goodison Park.[LNB]Branded 'shambolic', 'pathetic' and 'appalling' in a novel approach to motivation by co-owner Sullivan, West Ham's players demonstrated their unstinting support for Zola by not only answering Diniyar Bilyaletdinov's firsthalf opener but even an apparently decisive 85th-minute header by substitute Yakubu.[LNB] Lip service: Manuel da Costa celebrates scoring West Ham's first goal[LNB]The West Ham manager's look of despair suggested he could see no hope, but his players swept upfield within two minutes to salvage a richly deserved draw with a diving header from Brazilian free transfer substitute Araujo Ilan, after a vicious inswinging cross by Julien Faubert.[LNB] Sullivan may have rattled the troops with his outburst, following a 3-1 home defeat by Wolves, but a Scott Parkerinspired response saw West Ham claim an unlikely point.[LNB] Zola was even able to shrug off losing Valon Behrami to a knee injury dur ing the warm-up, Mido's soft penalty being saved and the booking of Parker that will trigger a twomatch suspension for a player many Barclays Premier League clubs will look to sign in the summer. Especially if West Ham go down.[LNB] Ground attack: Manuel Da Costa bundles in West Ham's first goal[LNB][LNB]Zola eyed a bottle of champagne clutched by a nearby press officer and said: 'That's mine, and I'm going to drink it all. I'm going to try, anyway. I feel like celebrating. I'm so proud of the players and the way they kept fighting against a team who have beaten Chelsea and Manchester United here this season. We never gave up, not even when Yakubu scored with five minutes left.[LNB] [LNB]MATCH FACTS EVER TON (4-4-1-1): Howard 6; Neville 6,Jagielka 7, Distin 6, Baines 6;Bilyaletdinov 6 (Yakubu 65min, 7),Osman 6 (Rodwell 83), Heitinga 6,Pienaar 6; Cahill 6; Saha 5.Booked: Distin, Cahill.WEST HAM (4-4-2): Green 6; Faubert 7,Da Costa 7, Upson 6, Spector 6; Stanislas 7 (Gabbidon 90), Kovac 7, Parker 8, Noble 7; Mido 3 (Ilan 77), Cole 6.Booked: Parker, Mido, Noble.Man of the match: Scott Parker.Referee: Howard Webb.[LNB]'But that did not surprise me. We said to the players before the game that, no matter what, we would fight until the end. Nothing was to be left in the bank. That was evident here.[LNB] 'It was important to give the players some time off after three games in seven days. They needed that to clear their minds, and the performance today was the perfect response to the criticism we've had.[LNB] 'The criticism has only made us stronger, and we have great confidence now that we can build on this and stay up. 'We will miss Scott, of course, because he leads by example, but I am sure others will fight hard to make sure his absence is not felt too much.'[LNB][LNB]Air raid: Bilyaletdinov heads Everton in front[LNB][LNB]Sullivan may care to reflect that West Ham's performance only veered towards shambolic when it involved Mido, whose signing he hailed as 'one of the most amazing deals of all time.'[LNB] The bulky striker contributed nothing, and after his weaklystruck 36th-minute penalty was comfortably saved by Tim Howard, he was left in little doubt of his standing among Hammers fans. As referee Howard Webb moved to punish a clumsy foul by the lumbering frontrunner seven minutes later, they bellowed, 'Off, off, off!'[LNB] Bilyaletdinov's close-range header from a Tim Cahill assist had given Everton a 24th minute lead, and West Ham were up against it after clumsy defending by Jonathan Spector.[LNB] Howard's end: Everton keeper saves Mido's penalty[LNB][LNB]Then came Mido's squandered penalty after last man Sylvain Distin escaped with a yellow card following a foul on Carlton Cole. As West Ham responded in the second half, Mark Noble saw a clever chip bounce back off the bar - but their luck turned seconds later, when Manuel Da Costa forced home a 60th-minute equaliser.[LNB] Yakubu looked to have settled it, heading home a Leighton Baines cross, but a new-found never-say-die spirit surfaced again as Ilan's headed reply had Zola dancing a jig on the touchline.[LNB] Everton 2 West Ham 2 - all the action as it happenedUnder-fire Zola snubs West Ham bosses and backs Fulham and HodgsonEVERTON FC
