Jarrod Bowen ended his long goal drought at the London Stadium after heading in a Mohammed Kudus cross, which gave his team the lead (Photo by Robin Jones - AFC Bournemouth/AFC Bournemouth via Getty Images)

West Ham and Bournemouth took a share of the spoils after a 2-2 draw that saw Evanilson score twice for the Cherries, and Niclas Füllkrug and Jarrod Bowen find the net for the Hammers.

The hosts put in an underwhelming display for most of the game and found themselves a goal down at halftime, after Evanilson capitalised on a goalkeeping error from Alphonse Areola. 

As the game continued in the second half, West Ham still lacked a threat up top until Füllkrug entered the frame.

Having come on not long before, it was the German’s unchallenged header that levelled up the tie, as his introduction changed the games flow. 

And after waiting half an hour for a shot, home fans suddenly found themselves leading through another header, this time by Bowen. 

Just as the game looked to be going West Ham’s way, Evanilson sprung up again to take a share of the points, getting himself on the end of a Dean Huijsen header across the box. 

The draw does not do either side many favours as West Ham remain in 15th place but does mean that Bournemouth jump up one place above Fulham on goal difference to 9th, keeping their European hopes alive despite the poor form.

  • Story of the match

West Ham came into the game with few injury setbacks, as Michail Antonio and Crysencio Summerville remained sidelined through leg injuries.   

After being absent in the midweek fixture away to Wolves, Mohammed Kudus returned to the starting lineup up top alongside Jarrod Bowen, in a welcome boost for the Hammers.

Central defender Jean-Clair Todibo and Edson Álvarez also made starts after missing the Tuesday fixture in what appeared to be a formation change too.

As for the visitors, Andoni Iraola was only forced into one change, with the tireless Ryan Christie being dropped due to injury and Tyler Adams coming in to replace him. 

Julián Araujo also returned to the squad on the bench after a lengthy period on the sidelines as a welcome piece of good news amongst the growing injury crisis the Cherries are once again suffering. 

Notable absentees also included Justin Kluivert, Marcos Tavernier and Luis Sinisterra, weakening Bournemouth’s attacking options from the bench. 

The visitors were looking to shake off their recent bad form, having failed to win in the last five Premier League games, impacting their European charge. 

For West Ham, it was another opportunity to gain some momentum and for Potter to further put his stamp on the side, building something for next season, as they sat 15th with relegation and a top ten finish both distant possibilities. 

Bournemouth started the game in their usual fast, pressing manner, putting their hosts under pressure and almost making the dream start through Evanilson but he could only direct his header wide from the cross. 

As the half progressed to the midway stage, neither team could create much more beyond half chances through James Ward-Prowse and Dango Ouattara.

It felt as if the sides could not quite get into their rhythms and settled for exploiting their opponents on the counter.

The Cherries almost broke the deadlock when Ouattara managed to reach a deep cross by Lewis Cook,, pulling it back into the six-yard box, only to find West Ham shirts that scruffily cleared the danger. 

Bournemouth were growing into the game more and more, and managed to break the deadlock with a spilled Antoine Semenyo shot that fell kindly for Evanilson, who pounced to scoop the ball beyond Alphonse Areola on 38 minutes, to the Frenchman’s embarrassment. 

And they could have doubled their lead just a few minutes later from a corner as Illia Zabarnyi angled a floating header that hit the crossbar, to the Hammers delight, that meant the hosts went into halftime only a goal down, rather than two. 

  • The second half

Come the second half, West Ham needed to improve and increase their intensity after a meek first 45 minutes. 

But as the game progressed to the hour mark, the home fans were still yet to see their side have a shot on target, until substitute Niclas Füllkrug popped up to power a corner in and level the scores with half an hour left to play.  

With the wind in their sails and momentum suddenly shifting, it was the home side who were pushing for another and who else but West Ham starboy Bowen to end his five-game goal drought at home to give his side the lead after latching onto a Kudus cross.

And he almost doubled his tally for the day after striking a free kick narrowly wide of Kepa’s top right-hand corner just five minutes later. 

Füllkrug’s introduction was a game changer for Potter’s side, providing an outlet up top to aim for and work around. 

However, just when the home fans thought they were heading towards a victory, Evanilson found himself in the right place at the right time again, converting a Dean Huijsen header at the back post to level the scores going into the final ten minutes. 

The game turned into an end-to-end affair, as the sides pushed for a winning goal.

Both teams came close to finding a third goal but just could not find that little bit extra that would have taken all three points.

  • Man of the match: Evanilson

Despite a goal-filled scoreline, the game lacked a lot of quality for large parts of it. 

Much like on Wednesday night, one player that did stand out was Evanilson for Bournemouth, who managed to extend his great scoring run to three games in a row, making it six goals in his last seven games after his brace in this game. 

As he has showed in many other games this season, his anticipation and ability to read the game was the difference and meant his side were able to profit from West Ham's defensive shortcomings. 

Even without the goals, his running and energy was key in retaining possession, winning fouls, and giving his side a presence up front, something their hosts lacked for a large part of the game. 

As Bournemouth continue to look for a win amidst a bad run of form, their best hope of overcoming the slump comes up top in the form of the Brazilian.