Spurs (h) Wouldn’t it be good?
Iwobi in for Coleman, Pickford back in goal & more importantly Allan back in midfield. It was an attacking line up, but still the bench was threadbare.
As the game kicked off & the formation unfolded, it was Sigurdsson that was playing off the left of the midfield 3 to leave James central. Richarlison would have a lot more help than he had on Monday.
It was James’s quick thinking that gave Richarlison his first opportunity on goal, straight ball between the centre backs completely befuddled the Spurs back line, as they thought the ball was going out wide. Richarlison was in on goal, but he perhaps shot too early from the edge of area when he maybe had another 3 or 4 more yards to run into. Saved by Lloris.
An Aurier cross parallel to the box up the other end saw Michael Keane inexplicably flick the ball on in the area rather than away from danger & the ball bypassed an unbalanced Holgate straight to Kane, who brought it down & sent it straight passed Pickford. A terrible goal to concede. To be ultra critical, perhaps Godfrey could have closed down the cross earlier, but the responsibility was Keane’s & it was a massive error. 0-1 Spurs undeserving of the lead.
Within 4 minutes Everton were level, a Sigurdsson cross just in from the touchline reached James just passed the D & into the area, Reguilon touched James in the back forcing him to become unbalanced & kick the floor. Penalty given. Cries from the gantry of it being ‘soft’, perhaps it was, but let me say this, when Mane, Kane, Son, Salah, Sterling, Aubameyang & Vardy go down in the box, a lead commentator for Sky has a phrase that is “he’s accepted the contact”, in this instance that’s exactly what James did. Even that buffoon Jamie Redknapp said it was a penalty, I bet Peter Walton was frantically ringing BT to disagree, before realising the game was on Sky. Clowns.
Clearly the memory of Dele Alli punching the ball out of the area in the reverse fixture last season or that rat Son diving about all game has been wiped out? How convenient.
Up stepped Gylfi, no arguments or debate about who was taking the penalty & it was in the far corner 1-1. Fully deserved.
James & Sigurdsson were finding space behind Hojbjerg (bullet dodged) & Sissoko, a great 1-2 put James through but he was stretching to take the shot on the return pass, but still Lloris was lucky to keep it out.
Everton were well in the ascendancy during the first half, the difference between this game & Brighton was clear to see. Allan was able to engage the ball much higher up the field & that triggered Sigurdsson to cut inside & sit next to Davies, it also meant James could roam freely, we were a different team & a clearly unmotivated Spurs were having problems with our movement, yes, you read that correctly!! HT 1-1
No changes at Halftime, there didn’t really need to be, although you probably would guess Iwobi would be first off. I’m not going to go into depth about him, but he just hasn’t fitted in anywhere & if he’s not one of the first out in the summer, I’d be disappointed.
Spurs or Mourinho had a lot riding on this game in my opinion, I genuinely think if they’d have lost this & then went on to lose the League Cup final, Jose would be in very serious danger of being shown the door. They came out fast in the second half, the despicable wretch Son showed Keane a clean pair of heels & amazingly rather than fall over in the box, he shot & Pickford made a smart save at his near post. Alderweireld would hit the wrong side of the post with a header from a corner, but the slimmed down slick haired Pickford had it covered.
Queue Iwobi substitution for Coleman, who within 3 minutes made Iwobi’s hour on the field look a complete waste of time. On 62 minutes Coleman from right wing plays the ball mid Spurs half into Richarlison who’s dropped deep, back to goal. He plays around the corner to Coleman who’s continued his run & the cross was pinpoint to an onrushing Sigurdsson to angle into the corner whilst using Alderweireld to disguise the direction of the shot. It was a really high class move & finish. It was a reward for being brave & showing clear intent to win this game. 2-1
Sadly for all that endeavour, disaster struck again when a routine cross was floating into the Everton box, Keane called for the ball & he clumsily headed it straight into Mason Holgate. I’ll understand that Holgate was close to Keane, but Keane watches the flight of the ball all the way to the moment he connects with it & he knows where Holgate is at all times. In truth he could have even brought it down and played it out of danger as opposed to heading it in any direction he chose to. However, the rebound off Holgate rolls passed the hapless Keane & Kane put it away on the bounce giving Pickford no chance. 2-2, it was punch squarely below the belt. Completely inexcusable.
Spurs smelling blood now went again & Kane headed just wide with a looping header. After the Sigurdsson second goal they had brought on Lamela & Moura, so now they were almost in a 3-3-4 formation going forward.
Carlo brought on Josh King for Tom Davies & dropped Sigurdsson next to Allan. The immaculate James playes a ball through to King, who takes the shot first time, Lloris saves & Richarlison following up tries to bend the ball into the top corner rather than drive it straight & low. Chance missed to win the game & it would have been a deserved victory.
Tactically, Carlo got it spot on tonight, just as in the previous 2 games vs Spurs this season & introduced the right players at the right time. You just can’t legislate for individual errors.
It’s real tough one to take this, the embodiment of a draw feeling like a loss, because Spurs hardly laid a glove on us all-night. The obvious thought is that if Mina was playing, we concede none of those goals, but we know Keane is a confidence player & since being dropped by England, his confidence has completed deserted him. Frankly, I’d have him nowhere near starting vs Arsenal next week, even if it meant 4 at the back with Godfrey & Holgate as the centre backs.
Special mention for Sigurdsson & James though, one ran himself into the ground & scored twice, the other showed why he’s the most gifted player we’re likely to see at Goodison in a generation.
But!! All is still not lost in the hunt for Europe, although we may need some favours along the way, somehow it’s still in our hands. Wouldn’t it be good If we can attack like that for those games & defend properly, if we can I believe we’ll do it.
UTFY COYB💙
