Coleman: postponed game did us no favours

REPUBLIC of Ireland starlet Seamus Coleman believes Everton’s extra rest actually worked against them on Tuesday when they played West Ham.

The Toffees’ St Stephen’s Day postponement against Birmingham — a game called off because of burst pipes at Goodison Park — meant they travelled to East London having not played for more than a week.

The Hammers, meanwhile, had only two days rest having played away at Fulham, and the disparity prompted Upton Park chief Avram Grant to label English football unfair.

“I think they (the Premier League) need to think about equal chances,” said the Israeli after the 1-1 draw. “It is okay if both teams play two games in 48 hours. If one team does and the other team is fresh, I think we need to think about this.”

Coleman saw it differently though and felt West Ham started the game with confidence following their 3-1 success at Craven Cottage while Everton were perhaps robbed of some of their momentum following their victory at Manchester City on December 20.

“There are two sides to it (the postponement) but I think it was (a hindrance),” Coleman said.

“We were all ready to go and only found out late on so it was frustrating. It would have been nice to get a result on Boxing Day going into this game but it wasn’t meant to be.

“It could have been a chance to get three points in front of the home fans, so it was frustrating. You could tell West Ham benefited from beating Fulham, and they had confidence.”

Despite Coleman grabbing his third goal of the season earning his side a point, the 23-year-old felt the 1-1 draw represented a missed opportunity.

Everton played the better football and passed up two decent late chances to win the game as West Ham goalkeeper Rob Green thwarted first Tim Cahill and then Marouane Fellaini.

Coleman added: “We badly wanted all three points, and their goalkeeper getting man of the match shows that we probably should have.

“We were on top a lot in the game, but then we produced a few sloppy passes at times that let them come back on the break. We were unlucky to concede that goal, and it was disappointing.

“I scored but the team is more important to me and I’d rather have the points. It’s a consolation to get a goal though. It’s very frustrating, because you need to get a goal in the periods when you are on top.

“Their keeper made a great save from Felli (Fellaini) and you wonder when you’re going to get another chance as clear as that.

“We need to start taking the three points. After Manchester City we were all full of confidence.

“But if you look at it in a different way, four points from two games isn’t really that bad.

“It was a frustrated dressing-room though, and we need to start tuning those draws into wins.”