Everton 1 West Ham United 1: Romelu Lukaku equaliser helps Toffees avoid 'horrendous setback'

The sides will now contest a replay at Upton Park next Tuesday

Romelu Lukaku celebrates scoring Everton's stoppage-time equaliser (AFP/Getty Images)

After seeing Romelu Lukaku force an FA Cup replay against West Ham, the Everton manager, Roberto Martinez admitted that a fifth straight defeat would have been a “horrendous setback”.

Lukaku’s stoppage time equaliser - the fourth successive time he has scored against West Ham - cancelled out James Collins’s opener and kept Everton clinging on in the competition. West Ham will, however, have Alex Song back for the replay after the midfielder ended the dispute over his participation in the Africa Cup of Nations with Cameroon by announcing his international retirement.

“It would have been a very damaging defeat,” said Martinez after Lukaku had forced a replay at Upton Park next Tuesday. “It would have been a horrendous setback, after four defeats in the league, but we showed the character to fight for everything.

“It is very important that we are still in the FA Cup. Some people would question why we would want a replay but we will embrace it because the FA Cup is very important to us. We have to remember at Everton that we are still in a bad run in the league and we need to rectify that.”

Martinez confessed that Lukaku’s equaliser had been “more than a relief” and both he and West Ham manager, Sam Allardyce, pointed to Joel Robles’s save from Enner Valencia straight after Collins had put West Ham ahead as the tie’s turning point.

Martinez is still interested in signing a goalkeeper as cover for the injured Tim Howard but said the Everton squad was “big enough and strong enough” for them not to require any outfield reinforcements in the January transfer window.