In their first game since the passing of chairman Bill Kenwright, Everton were struggling to find any rhythm in the opening stages.
They were almost gifted a route into the game midway through the first half though, when a moment of indecision between Lucas Paquetá and Nayef Aguerd afforded Jack Harrison the chance to fire a shot on goal, but his effort was straight at Alphonse Areola.
Somewhat summing up the opening period was the fact its main flashpoint came when James Tarkowski and Mohammed Kudus came to blows, prompting a near 22-man scuffle.
Neither side were able to channel their energy into creating anything of note in the final third, as the home support began to let their frustrations show.
As it happened, the HT whistle sounded without either goalkeeper making anything beyond a routine save.
The second half couldn’t possibly have been much worse than the first, and it didn’t take long for that sentiment to ring true when Dominic Calvert-Lewin nestled an effort into the bottom corner from the edge of the area - his 50th PL goal for the Toffees.
He soon turned provider as Everton sought to extend their lead, climbing highest to flick on Jordan Pickford’s hopeful punt forward, but as Abdoulaye Doucouré raced through on goal, his ferocious half-volley was sensationally stopped by Areola.
Despite trailing, West Ham were offering precious little in an attacking sense and were incredibly lucky not to fall two goals behind when Calvert-Lewin saw his effort crash back off the underside of the bar.
Seeing games out has become synonymous with the DNA of a Sean Dyche team, and his side were relatively untroubled in getting over the line here to stretch their cushion to the drop zone to five points pending Luton’s result later today.
It was yet another despondent afternoon for West Ham though, who are now winless in four and seemingly struggling to balance the demands of European and domestic football despite what their Conference League success last season would suggest.
Flashscore Man of the Match: Dominic Calvert-Lewin (Everton)
