Brazilian striker Ilan grabbed a last-gasp equaliser to help West Ham secure a dramatic 2-2 draw at Everton and breathe new life into their Premier League survival battle.
With relegation rivals Hull, Burnley and Wigan all losing over the Easter weekend, the stage was set for the Hammers to boost their hopes of avoiding the drop on Merseyside. Manuel Da Costa equalised Diniyar Bilyaletdinov's first-half header on the hour mark only for substitute Yakubu to put Everton ahead again with five minutes to go. But sub Ilan flashed home Julien Faubert's cross to end West Ham's run of six successive defeats and relieve some pressure on under-fire boss Gianfranco Zola.
Without a win in their last 15 games, West Ham's hopes of ending that run at Goodison Park suffered a huge dent when Jonathan Spector's poor defensive header was punished heavily by Bilyaletdinov. Spector headed Leighton Baines' cross straight up in the air and Tim Cahill nodded the ball back across the six-yard box for the diminutive Russian to put the Toffees in front on 24 minutes.
January signing Mido should have levelled for Zola's Hammers six minutes before break after Sylvain Distin felled leading scorer Carlton Cole in the box. But the Egypt international's weak penalty was tipped around the post by Tim Howard, diving low to his right as Everton lead at the break.
The Hammers flew out of the traps in the second half and almost got back on level terms when Mark Noble clipped the ball over Howard, only to see it rebound back off the crossbar. But Everton failed to heed the warning and within 30 seconds Da Costa bundled home Noble's corner to score his second goal for the club and drag the visitors level.
Boss David Moyes responded by throwing on Yakubu and it was the Nigerian who looked to have won it for Everton by heading home Baines' cross, before Ilan snatched a dramatic second equaliser.
Source: DSG
