Everton 2 Bournemouth 1
Left-back Leighton Baines’ first goal since November 2014 secured Everton’s first home league victory since early February but it was not enough to prevent growing opposition to Roberto Martinez’s continued reign as manager.
A plane flying the banner ‘Roberto must go’ was followed by a handful of fans in the Gwladys Street End holding up ‘Martinez Out’ signs and chanting ‘Get out of our club’ at the end of the 2-1 win.
Only five home league wins in the last 12 months tells its own story and it is unlikely Baines’ goal, after Marc Pugh had cancelled out Tom Cleverley’s strike inside the opening 10 minutes, will ease the pressure.
Despite his easy-going appearance, Martinez has a stubborn streak and if his stint at Goodison Park is coming to an end he is determined to go out on his own terms.
The decision to give Oumar Niasse a Premier League debut ahead of 25-goal leading scorer Romelu Lukaku was a bold one which smacked of sticking two fingers up at his critics. Prior to his full debut Niasse had played just 29 minutes of football since December 10, his last match for Lokomotiv Moscow before a January move to Goodison Park.
Just a fortnight ago Martinez had said it would be a “bonus” if he played again for them this season because of his fitness levels but on this evidence he should change that assessment to “unthinkable” as he looked well off the pace.
It was no surprise the visitors pegged Everton back, or did it so quickly, as confidence at home has been fragile and even Cleverley’s strike two minutes earlier — incredibly from Ross Barkley’s first assist of 2016 — failed to settle nerves. The midfielder’s finish was a smart one but so was Pugh’s, who swept home Callum Wilson’s cross despite Everton complaining the striker had nudged 21-year-old Matthew Pennington, making his Premier League debut, in the back in winning the ball out wide.
Goodison’s atmosphere was less toxic than expected — rumoured protests failed to materialise — but still surreal as 20 minutes in Bournemouth fans sang ‘Sacked in the morning’ to Martinez and pockets of the home crowd applauded.
It was winger Aaron Lennon who provided the breakthrough as his run and cross in the 64th minute was rammed home at the far post by Baines, his first goal for 42 matches. Bournemouth substitute Benik Afobe has two efforts to level things up, the first blocked by Pennington, and such has been their form at home it was something of a surprise Everton did not concede before the end.
Watford 3 Aston Villa 2
Troy Deeney grabbed two late goals to condemn Aston Villa to a club-record 11th straight defeat.
Deeney, a boyhood Birmingham fan, stuck the knife into the team he loves to score against more than any other as Watford ran out 3-2 winners.
Relegated Villa were leading with just five seconds of normal time remaining thanks to goals from Irish international Ciaran Clark and Jordan Ayew, either side of Almen Abdi’s free-kick.
But the beleaguered midlanders, who had Aly Cissokho sent off with 15 minutes left, could not hold out as Deeney’s double piled on the agony.
The match initially settled into a miserably familiar routine for Villa, camped in their own half while being jeered by their own fans.
However, after 25 minutes Villa made it into the Watford half, and even managed a shot at goal. Although Ayew’s effort was way off target the away fans launched into a mock celebration as if they had scored.
So imagine their surprise two minutes later when Ashley Westwood swung in a corner and Clark nipped in ahead of Miguel Britos to power a header into the net.
For the first time since February Villa were leading a match — and they almost doubled their advantage when Cissokho’s cross was headed onto the foot of the post by Ayew.
Instead normal service appeared to have been resumed when Abdi curled in a superb free-kick to level on the stroke of half-time. Yet three minutes into the second half Villa scored again, Ayew exchanging passes with Rudy Gestede before drilling a low shot from the edge of the box past Heurelho Gomes.
Villa were reduced to 10 men when Cissokho saw red for tripping Ikechi Anya as he raced through on goal. But they were moments away from registering only their second away win of the season until Deeney nodded in a Steven Berghuis cross.
And in stoppage time Deeney lashed home a half-clearance from the edge of the area to leave Villa with an unwanted place in the history books.
West Brom 0 West Ham 3
West Ham sent out a European warning as they powered into fifth with an impressive win at West Brom.
Mark Noble’s double and Cheikhou Kouyate’s strike gave the Hammers a 3-0 victory which sent them above Manchester United on goal difference in the Barclays Premier League.
United will retake fifth spot if they avoid defeat against champions-elect Leicester on Sunday but the Hammers kept up the pressure and they have lost just once in their last 13 games in all competitions.
They face United in their final game at Upton Park on May 10 in what is set to become a winner-takes-all clash.
Craig Gardner wasted three early chances for the mid-table Baggies but they were blown away once Kouyate had opened the scoring in the first half.
The hosts struggled to clear from a West Ham corner and when a fortunate ricochet broke for Dimitri Payet he found Kouyate to head in at the far post. It underlined the Hammers’ extra cutting edge and they doubled their lead in first-half injury time as the hosts were caught cold again. Kouyate was sent scampering down the left and raced unchallenged into the area to tee up Noble, whose survived a poor first touch to stab in the corner.
The visitors wrapped up victory with 11 minutes left when Noble bagged his second. Payet was allowed the chance to run at the Baggies defence and tee up Andy Carroll to cross for Noble to adjust his body and smash a 10-yard volley into the roof of the net.
