Everton 1 West Ham 0: Roberto Martinez thrilled by Toffees spirit

Roberto Martinez praised his side’s spirit and desire after Romelu Lukaku came off the bench to fire Everton to victory over stubborn West Ham.

The Belgium striker, who had been out injured since January, stroked home Leighton Baines’s cross in the 81st minute at Goodison Park.

And Martinez was thrilled by the Toffees’ never-say-die attitude as they ended West Ham’s hopes of a fifth straight league win.

“What pleased me more than anything is that we never got emotional or frustrated,” said Martinez, whose side remain in sixth place.

It gave me incredible satisfaction to win the way we did

Roberto Martinez

“We never left ourselves exposed or lost our concentration, which is easy against a side like West Ham that is very efficient in the final third. To restrict them to one shot on target is a magnificent achievement.

“What is important is that on a day like today, at home against a side like West Ham, when everyone expects you to win, it could have been all too easy to get emotional and frustrated after losing the way we did last week.

“It gave me incredible satisfaction to win the way we did and I think you will see this side at its strongest in the next 11 games.

“We want to win every game and if we do that, who knows where we will finish. We’ve got five games away and six at home. This league has got many twists and turns until the last second.

“We’re not looking at where we are going to finish – we are looking at how well we can finish. And then we will see where that leaves us.”