Everton were held to a frustrating draw at home to West Ham.

Michael Keane broke the deadlock after 18 minutes by meeting James Garner’s cross into the box with a powerful header to beat Alphonse Areola.

But the visitors redressed the balance midway through the second half as Jarrod Bowen was allowed to fire past Jordan Pickford in the penalty area.

David Moyes’ side drop down to ninth in the Premier League table after failing to win for a third top flight outing in succession and fourth in all competitions.

Here were the key talking points from Hill Dickinson Stadium:

Moyes’ cup gamble backfires

David Moyes had copped plenty of flack after Everton crashed out in the Carabao Cup’s third round with barely a whimper away to Wolves last week.

For a fanbase suffering a 30-year silverware drought, the manner of the exit at Molineux was considered to be a dereliction of duty by their manager.

Whether he saw the competition as a distraction is something only the Scot can answer but it was the Blues’ most viable path to a long-awaited trophy.

Prioritising their Premier League schedule meant Moyes left himself little room for manoeuvre ahead of facing his former employers West Ham.

For a time, it appeared the gamble of going out early paid off with the hosts leading at the interval and arguably should have built on their advantage.

Yet his side hit a wall after the break that afforded their visitors the new manager bounce that they craved on a first trip to Hill Dickinson Stadium.

The Hammers grew into this encounter and equalised from one of many counterattacks while Everton were found wanting in the final third.

Moyes again sought to draw a line under the cup debacle with his programme notes insisting he had ‘moved on’ – but this result only served to magnify it.

Yellow peril opens the door

Evertonians may have few grounds for complaint about this result but the manner in which the closing stages of it played out will certainly rankle.

Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall picked up his fifth booking of the season after referee Sam Barrott deemed his foul on Kyle Walker-Peters to be beyond the pale.

The bulk of a 51,000-strong crowd that ventured to the banks of the River Mersey begged to differ and rightly so; it was an innocuous challenge at best.

Frivolous cautions have become a recent trend for the playmaker, having also been punished in the Merseyside derby for a quickly taken free kick.

Dewsbury-Hall’s exasperation reflected the automatic one-game suspension that it incurred which will rule him out of Sunday’s visit from Crystal Palace.

Given their imperious 18-game unbeaten run, capped off by a recent win over Liverpool, facing the FA Cup holders was already set to be an arduous task.

It does, however, open the door for others to step up to the plate with Tyler Dibling, Charly Alcaraz and Dwight McNeil all vying for Dewsbury-Hall’s spot.

The trio will be under no illusions that Dewsbury-Hall’s absence will be fleeting but it is a window of opportunity to try and play their way into Moyes’ thoughts.

Defence still best form of attack

The current death of goals has not been for a lack of trying by Moyes’ side.

In Dewsbury-Hall, Jack Grealish and Iliman Ndiaye, Everton possess one of the Premier League’s most pulsating attacking tridents already this season.

The trouble is that those on the receiving end of their array of creative output are seemingly incapable of putting them to productive use when presented.

Beto continues to appear flat-footed and gauche in front of goal while his direct replacement Thierno Barry, similarly, struggles to impose himself.

Fortunately, Moyes has something of a secret weapon in his armoury.

Michael Keane’s first-half opener was a masterclass in finishing which his maligned cohorts in the final third would be proud to claim as their own.

The defender himself knows how unforgiving life in the royal blue shirt can be after spending large parts of his near-decade spell as a designated fall guy.

His renaissance during Jarrad Brainthwaite’s prolonged injury recovery has been a triumph for more than simply shoring up Everton’s backline.

Never has the adage that ‘defence is the best form of attack’ rang truer.