Everton have joined three other teams on 30 points in the upper reaches of the Premier League with a 2-1 win at West Ham United.

Second-half goals from Victor Anichebe and Steven Pienaar sealed the points for the Blues after Carlton Cole had put the hosts in front.

However, the game was overshadowed by controversy, with both sides reduced to 10 men under contentious circumstances and Leon Osman having a seemingly legitimate goal ruled offside.

Here, Sports Mole takes a closer look to see if the result was fair.

Match statistics

West Ham
Shots: 6
On Target: 5
Possession: 38%
Corners: 3
Fouls: 12

Everton
Shots: 15
On Target: 8
Possession: 62%
Corners: 5
Fouls: 8

Was the result fair?

Judging by the way both teams played across the 90 minutes, you could call this a fair result, but it's hard to say what the outcome would have been had Carlton Cole not been wrongfully dismissed in the second half.

West Ham's performance

The Hammers were excellent in the first half and deserved to be ahead at the break. The Everton defence had no answer to Cole's pace and strength and his red card proved the turning point. West Ham crumbled after that and spent much of the remainder on the back foot.

Everton's performance

The Toffees started slowly and appeared shell-shocked after falling behind, creating very little in the first period besides a disallowed Leon Osman goal that should have stood. They were much better after the break, even before Cole's dismissal they put West Ham under pressure, with Osman, Steven Pienaar and Leighton Baines running the show.

Referee's performance

Very poor indeed. While the decision to rule out Osman's seemingly-legitimate goal fell to the linesman, Anthony Taylor got both red card decisions spectacularly wrong. Cole was dismissed for going in with a raised boot on Baines, but there was no malice in the challenge whatsoever. It was the same story when Darron Gibson received his marching orders later on - a call that was likely made to compensate for the earlier gaff.

Sports Mole's man of the match

Leon Osman: Osman was a cut above the rest today and was the driving force behind Everton, linking up beautifully with Pienaar and Baines.

Biggest gaffe

That's an easy one - any of the calls made by the officials, take your pick.

What's next?

West Ham: The Hammers face a tough trip to Arsenal in their next figure as they bid to halt their slide down the table.

Everton: The Toffees play host to Wigan Athletic at Goodison Park on Boxing Day.