Everton moved away from the relegation zone thanks to two goals in the last 10 minutes  to see of West Ham 2-0 at Walton Hall Park.

Aurora Galli assisted Marina Piemonte’s header from a free kick and minutes later Piemonte returned the favour by heading the ball to Galli who scored from the edge of the box as she curled it into the top left corner.  

A downside to a good day for The Blues was what seemed to be a serious injury to Karoline Olsen as she left the pitch on a stretcher in the final moments of the game. 

In the early minutes of the match, The Toffees had to adjust to Rehanne Skinner’s tactic of a high press which won West Ham the ball frequently in the midfield as the home side was forced to make quick passes under pressure.  

The Hammers’ tactics earnt them the first chances of the game, Katrina Gorry took a shot from outside the box that had decent power, but it was off the mark. 

Skinner’s side missed out on a goal by inches. Riko Euki won the ball as she pressured Elise Stenevik, which resulted in a corner. Kirsty Smith took it quickly to Jess Ziu who went back to Smith who put in a great delivery that Amber Tysiak managed to get something on. She thought it was in, but the officials disagreed. 

The rest of the first half was a stalemate of defensive responsibility, West Ham had the more frequent chances, but they didn’t test Courtney Brosnan seriously. Everton built from the back but as they worked possession into the midfield, they lacked creativity, a consequence of the opposition’s pressure.  

In the 51st minute, Emma Snerle came on for Eueki. The substitution was a surprise as she had consistently found space in dangerous positions as The Toffees had a slow start to the second half. 

Both team’s backlines and midfielders stayed concentrated as they battled the effects of attrition.  

A key substitution was made for The Blues as Piemonte came on for Rikke Madsen in the 73rd minute. Piemonte’s effect wasn’t immediate, but it was crucial in the 83rd minute as she scored Everton’s first goal.  

Galli took the free kick from the right of the pitch and Piemonte was in the perfect position to score a header on the edge of the six-yard box, the ball glided into the top right corner.  

Then in the 86th Brosnan kicked the ball up field, Piemonte headed it on to Galli who took it to the edge of the box and curled it in with finesse into the top left corner, a stunning goal from the Italian. 

Everton’s win broke a spell of bad form in recent WSL matches but with comfortable distance gained from the bottom spot, taken by Bristol City, the team should be able to play with more confidence in the next matches.  

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