Everton manager Frank Lampard has come out to defend the performance of Alex Iwobi after his costly mistake allowed West Ham to register a 2-1 Premier League win on Sunday.
After Aaron Cresswell put the Hammers ahead at London Stadium, the Toffees drew level courtesy of Mason Holgate in the second half. However, it was the former Arsenal player who gave away the winning goal.
The 25-year-old Super Eagle lost concentration and could not collect Michael Keane’s pass, allowing West Ham’s Pablo Fornals to put Michail Antonio through on goal, and his one-time effort was saved by Jordan Pickford but Jarrod Bowen reacted to smash home the rebound.
Lampard has now refused to blame Iwobi for his mistake and instead, praised him for his versatility.
“Alex [Iwobi] played really well and I hope people don't focus too much on the negative and the mistake because if you focus on that you have to remind yourself that he scored us the winning goal against Newcastle in our last game,” Lampard told reporters as quoted by allnigeriasoccer.com.
“He’s got attributes to be able to play in different positions. I thought his work rate was brilliant, his play against a very strong midfield West Ham, he gave us a lot by coming into midfield and I thought he did well.”
Meanwhile, Lampard believes the outcome of the game did not reflect the fighting spirit put up by his charges.
“We deserved more, at 1-1 I fancied us to be the stronger team and push to score the second,” Lampard said as quoted by Everton's official website.
“There were so many positives, in terms of how we approached the game against a good team. We certainly deserved a point.
“Everything is going against us: decisions, moments in games, red cards. I can’t fault the players’ character or their play. There were mistakes, maybe, but West Ham made mistakes, too, and it didn’t fall our way.
“The performance was really positive and we have 10 more games to perform like that. We kept going and had a couple of half-chances and the spirit and resilience of the team was really good.”
Iwobi and Everton will hope to return to winning ways when they travel to face Burnley at Turf Moor on Wednesday before the visit of Manchester United at Goodison Park on Saturday.