Everton kept their unbeaten Premier League run intact on Saturday, with Jake O’Brien again coming to the Toffees’ rescue late on.
David Moyes’ side made it nine games unbeaten in the top-flight, and moved up to 34 points to go 17 clear of the relegation zone.
Everton weren’t really at the races against West Ham.
It had looked as though Everton would slip to only their second defeat under Moyes, after Tomas Soucek had given West Ham United the lead at Goodison Park and the game headed into injury-time.
But O’Brien popped up again for Everton, converting Idrissa Gana Gueye’s fantastic volleyed cross in the 91st minute.
It was his second goal in Everton’s last three games, and the second instance of him helping his side rescue a point.
What Evan Ferguson said to Jake O’Brien after his goal for Everton
Photo by Michael Regan/Getty Images
Photo by Michael Regan/Getty Images
With Everton safe from relegation, there isn’t too much concern at the moment over performance levels.
Many Evertonians are simply waiting for the season to end now, so that a huge summer can commence under The Friedkin Group ahead of 2025/25.
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That said, fans are making the most of their final visits to Goodison Park.
The performance at Goodison on Saturday wasn’t great, but at least O’Brien managed to keep Everton’s unbeaten run going.
Moyes sees Jake O'Brien's medium & long term future at CB but the Irishman keeps adding new strings to his bow. Rare to see someone of his size so technically adept
Individual work after training w/Baines & coaching staff is paying off@TheAthleticFChttps://t.co/qI2rw43CB0
— Patrick Boyland (@Paddy_Boyland) March 17, 2025
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It was another great moment for O’Brien, who was the target for some banter in the tunnel from Evan Ferguson after the game.
As per The Athletic, O’Brien was speaking to media members in the tunnel after the game and Ferguson – a previous Everton transfer target – walked past and joked to his international teammate that his goal was a ‘fluke’.
O’Brien set for central role at Everton
It’s been fascinating to watch O’Brien over the last couple of months in this right-back role.
He has done really well, and pundit Danny Murphy said O’Brien has been terrific under Moyes after being ‘out in the wilderness’ – a verdict many Everton fans will share.
In The Athletic’s report, it’s stated that the plan is to eventually get O’Brien playing in the centre of the defence, which is his natural position.
It remains to be seen at what point this will happen, with James Tarkowski still performing well alongside Jarrad Branthwaite.
But it’s certainly good for O’Brien to have display versatility, as that will only help his cause going forward.