Everton FC 2, West Ham United 2: full time report

West Ham twice came from behind at Everton to claim a crucial point in their Barclays Premier League relegation scrap.Manuel da Costa and Ilan both struck in the second half as the Hammers produced a battling display to end a damaging run of six successive defeats.Diniyar Bilyaletdinov opened the scoring and Ayegbeni Yakubu looked to have won it for the Toffees six minutes from time but the Hammers, who also missed a penalty, produced their best performance in weeks.After a disjointed first-half display, gaining a draw was an unexpected bonus that lifted them one point clear of the bottom three.That was no more than the visitors deserved for a battling showing after the break, Scott Parker typifying their effort with an outstanding display in defence and attack.The only blight on his performance was a booking which means he must now serve a two-match suspension.Fate had appeared to be conspiring against under-pressure Hammers boss Gianfranco Zola before kick-off.Having already lost Kieron Dyer, the Italian was forced to make a late change when Valon Behrami was injured in the warm-up.After initially been named among the substitutes, Junior Stanislas was unexpectedly promoted to the side while Josh Payne was handed a place on the bench.Everton made just one change, and it proved a key one, with goalscorer Bilyaletdinov starting ahead of Jack Rodwell.The match started slowly but West Ham finally got a sight of goal when Parker fired well over from a corner.Everton's first opportunity came from a free-kick but Leighton Baines shot straight into the wall from 20 yards.The hosts got another chance from slightly greater distance after Parker earned that costly booking for a late challenge on Tim Cahill.This time top scorer Louis Saha took aim but sliced his effort well wide.Everton stepped up the pressure to claim the lead after 24 minutes.Jonathan Spector attempted to head away a Baines cross but found only Cahill, who nodded back for Bilyaletdinov to glance in from close range.Cahill then threatened a second after a driving run but dragged his shot wide from the edge of the box.

Source: Liverpool_Echo