sports

West Ham’s Bilic delighted after rare win at Everton

March 06, 2016

West Ham United manager Slaven Bilic is happy after his team score three goals in the last 12 minutes to beat 10-man Everton. – Reuters pic, March 6, 2016.​West Ham United manager Slaven Bilic was a happy man after watching his team score three goals in the last 12 minutes to beat 10-man Everton 3-2 yesterday.

Everton led 2-0 despite having Kevin Mirallas sent off in the first half and Romelu Lukaku's 69th-minute penalty being saved.

Michail Antonio, Diafra Sakho and Dimitri Payet then struck late on to secure West Ham's first Premier League win at Goodison Park since 2005.

"It feels great," Bilic told the BBC. "We don't have a great record here, we don't have a record here at all to be fair," he joked.

West Ham climbed to fifth in the table, a point behind Manchester City who occupy the final Champions League qualifying place.

"This is why English football is so attractive and so good. If they score the penalty we could have lost three or 4-0," Bilic said.

"However, nobody could say that over 90 minutes we didn't deserve it. We did and that is what makes me proud of the team. It is a great day for West Ham."

Lukaku put Everton ahead and, after Mirallas was sent off, Aaron Lennon doubled the lead.

The spot kick by Lukaku was saved by West Ham keeper Adrian and Everton manager Roberto Martinez said that was the turning-point in the match.

"The key moment was the penalty," added the Spaniard. "That would have been game over and it is a feeling of missed opportunity.

"Everyone got a bit shocked at that moment. With a man down... we found it difficult to do what we had been doing, the way we had to match 11 men cost us in the final 10 minutes." – Reuters, March 6, 2016.