Defender Maximilian Kilman insists that West Ham United can take positives from their 0-0 home draw with Everton in the Premier League, as they look to continually improve and climb up the standings.
The two teams cancelled each other out throughout 90 hard-fought minutes at London Stadium, and though the Hammers were unable to seal a third home league win on the bounce for the first time since October 2022, the result did deliver only a second clean sheet of the season, and first on home turf.
Such a feat was particularly pleasing for summer signing Kilman, who has started each of the eleven 2024/25 top-flight clashes so far this term, while at the other end a succession of chances late on - most notably for substitute Danny Ings, who was denied by Jordan Pickford right at the death - mean our No26 is confident he and his teammates can improve their 14th-place position after the two-week international break.
“We have to take the positives from the game,” said Kilman, 27. “I think our defending is probably the biggest positive - we defended well throughout.
“Going up against Dominic Calvert-Lewin was a tough test for me. He’s very powerful and has a really good leap, so I had to make sure I was ready to go up against him, and thankfully we were able to keep him at bay.
“From a defensive point of view, not conceding is important. It’s something you can build a foundation from, so we need to do that and hopefully we can get more clean sheets as the season goes on.
“I think in the first half we took a bit of time to settle into the game, but in the second half we created some really good opportunities, and were actually unfortunate not to come away with the win, so there were lots of things to be pleased about across the pitch.”
As on a number of occasions this season, the Hammers’ substitutes had a significant impact on the pattern of the game. Against Everton, as he had done at Fulham and Manchester United, it was Ings injecting energy into the attack, and going agonisingly close to what would have been the winner, and his second goal of the campaign.
Striker Ings’ influence came as no surprise to Kilman, who has formed a close friendship with the former England international off the pitch, while he stressed the importance of every squad member in pushing for further wins and clean sheets in the weeks to come.
Kilman added: “Danny is a top, top player and we’ve seen throughout this season that he takes his opportunities when he gets them. Today’s another example of him coming on and having a big impact. I think next time, if he has another chance like that at the end, he’ll probably score.
“All of the boys who came on showed a lot of energy today, and that’s what we need. We need the whole team to push us on, as we look to continually get better, and everyone’s got a part to play in the remainder of the season. We’re only going to continue growing as a squad, so we’re positive about the future.”
