Lincoln (a) When it rains, it doesn’t always pour....I remember when the Everton players skulked off the pitch at Millwall earlier this year, and my overriding emotion was why don’t they care as much as I do? I was beyond livid. But at 2-2 with a set piece to win the game I knew what was coming, why should I have been surprised? after all we have had no fighting spirit since Moyes left. And that’s indisputable.
So at 1-0 on Wednesday night, I’ll admit I was clock watching I was fearing the worst; it’s in me to feel that way, I’m conditioned to it. On very rare occasions I feel like I’m tolerating football and not enjoying it, but you live in hope and that’s what makes you fall in and out of love with football for 10 months of a year. It’s the wife/girlfriend/husband/boyfriend that you keep taking back, no matter what they’ve done. It really is til death do us part with Everton.
Anyway... when the best LB in the league scored the goal of the season contender to bring us level the nerves settled and we became ourselves, not only that, we remembered all the good things from March onwards of last season. We attacked, we pressed and we got the fullbacks high up the pitch.
Second half and we get a penalty, nerves are back as Gylfi stands over the ball...In my head I’m thinking Kean or Digne, just give it to one of those, get the lead and shut up shop.
But that’s not the Everton way.... and this is where the change starts....
Gylfi scores, a scuffle breaks out, our mild mannered, gentlemanly team of last year would have buckled and they would have gone under. However!! to a man the goalmouth was filled with our players piling in, even Pickford running the full length of the pitch to grab the front of a Lincoln players shirt and drag him away. Moise Ken drops a sly one in from behind Michael Keane, Delph in the middle of it all. All of a sudden, it appears we’ve found togetherness.
At Millwall last season when they went in on us and to a degree last Friday at Villa, the players shied away from a battle, they bottled it and to me thats shaming the shirt. Tonight was different.
Lincoln scored an excellent equaliser, and the commentator and Sky were delighted because the upset that they were hoping for looked on the cards. Out came the, ‘Everton don’t score many goals’, ‘Everton haven’t won from a losing position under Marco Silva’, Everton are wasteful in attacking areas’ lines, all clearly very well practiced. The script had been written by Sky, much like the BBC at Millwall.
Rather than panic and worry, the team got hold of the game and went again, and again, until the game was out of site.
I do sense a character change, I do sense an attitude change. Whether Silva read the riot act to them the day after the Villa game or whether it’s the introduction of the new players, it was different.
Delph, Kean, Iwobi and Sidibe all played well, especially Delph and Iwobi. Kean still not match sharp, but even in this condition he looks frightening at times. Delph drags us up the pitch and Iwobi’s first thought is to get forward and commit defenders. All positives!!
Pleasing to see Silva fully commit to the competition and to also make sure he sent the players to the faithful at the end, I only remember Coleman doing that vs Villa. Again maybe it’s in recognition that attitudes needed changing.
Draw for the next round gave us Sheffield Wednesday away, a great club with a great ground.
Onto Wolves Sunday and an early kick off. They play Torino on Thursday night, so let’s hope for floodlight failures, 90 mins, extra time, penalties and a few knocks.
3 points is a must on Sunday to get a respectable return our opening fixtures before the international break.
UTFT COYB
By
Matthew Barry