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Romelu Lukaku is still the main man

Welcome back, Rom. It wasn’t quite the same without you. The big Belgian showed Everton fans what they have been missing when he came off the bench to fire home the game’s 81st-minute winner. Others led the line in his absence, but there is no player on the Blues' books quite like Lukaku. Blues boss Roberto Martinez says he is ‘irreplaceable’. He even managed to squeeze in a comparison with the great Lionel Messi.

“There are certain players in certain squads that can’t be replaced,” said Martinez. “Barcelona are one of the best teams in the world but when they have not got Messi the team suffers.”

Lukaku was on the pitch for 31 minutes. The Opta stats show he made only 11 passes, at an accuracy rate of 63.6%, and won only 25% of his aerial duels. But the only stat that matters is under the ‘goals’ column. Lukaku (1). Game won.

John Stones is a more than able defensive deputy

With Phil Jagielka nursing a hamstring injury, it was down to Stones to pair up with Sylvain Distin at the heart of Everton’s defence. The young Englishman excelled.

Hammers striker Carlton Cole lasted just 29 minutes up against Stones and Distin. “I just felt he wasn’t holding the ball up,” moaned West Ham boss Sam Allardyce.

Enter Andy Carroll from the sub’ bench... But he also got no change from Stones, who won 71.4% of his aerial duels on the day. The versatile defender shows a maturity beyond his 19 years.

Blues boss Roberto Martinez acknowledged the former Barnsley man’s contribution after the final whistle.

“If you want to find the hardest test for a centre-half, it’s playing away at the Britannia Stadium. The next one is when you face West Ham,” he said. “I thought he (Stones) was terrific. His decisions, his distribution, the way he was commanding, his partnership with Sylvain Distin - it was all terrific.”

The future of the Blues’ defence looks in safe hands.

Roberto Martinez loves a super sub

Time and time again, the Blues boss has made inspired substitutions - and he was at it again on Saturday. Romelu Lukaku is a useful ace to have up your sleeve.

Returning to the squad after a month out, the on-loan Chelsea man was kept on the bench before being unleashed on a tiring Hammers defence for the final 30 minutes. The stage was set for Lukaku, who duly pounced late on to earn a priceless win for Everton.

Martinez’s tactical changes have won matches for the Blues all season and it was a knack he displayed from his earliest games as manager.

Back in September, Lukaku came on for the second half at Upton Park inspired Everton to a 3-2 success. In October, Steven Pienaar came off the bench and scored the winner just 27 seconds after entering the fray. In the very next game, the introduction of Leon Osman at Aston Villa was pivotal as he set up the first and scored the second in a 2-0 success.

Martinez has masterminded plenty of other turnarounds, with another recent example coming in the FA Cup tie against Swansea City when Steven Naismith kick-started the Blues and helped secure them a place in the quarter-finals.

Martinez, it seems, is a man with the Midas touch.

The Baines-Pienaar partnership is firing again

They were THE chief source of scoring chances under David Moyes, but have not been quite as prominent under Roberto Martinez. The Everton boss likes his teams to attack from all areas of the pitch - so the workload is shared more evenly.

Despite not making so many headlines for the Blues under Martinez, the Baines-Pienaar pairing was back in the old groove on Saturday, combining superbly for Lukaku’s winner.

Leighton Baines was credited with his first assist of the season - a staggering statistic when you consider that, this time last year, the left-back was credited with creating more goalscoring opportunities than any player in Europe.

“I think Leighton now is performing as good as I’ve seen this season,” said Martinez. “His partnership with Pienaar is as good as you will see in the league.”

Great news for Evertonians everywhere.

The Blues like to leave it late

It used to be Manchester United, but now Everton are the Premier League’s late show kings.

When Romelu Lukaku struck to sink the Hammers, it was the 12th time the Blues have scored in the final 10 minutes this season. Those late strikes garnered 11 points - the difference between 10th spot and sixth.

More Everton FC news

Romelu Lukaku is aiming to fire the Blues to Wembley, while Kevin Mirallas says the Arsenal FA Cup game is the club's most important of the season.