Now Unbeaten in Four Games in all Competitions, Sean Dyche’s Toffees Continue Their Upturn with a 0-2 win at Portman Road.
Newly promoted Ipswich Town hosted Everton on Saturday at Portman Road, with the two sides meeting for the first time since the 2002 Premier League campaign. Branthwaite and Garner were unavailable due to injury, and Dyche once again handed starts to Michael Keane in defense and decided for a midfield three of Idrissa Gueye and Abdoulaye Doucoure, with McNeil returning to the number the position. Lindstrom also missed out late on in the day due to illness, meaning Joao Virginia and Asmir Begovic both made the bench for the blues.
Both sides traded massive chances inside the first ten minutes, with the hosts going close first. A sizzling move from Town saw Omari Hutchinson start a great move that eventually found Jack Clarke all alone in the middle of the Everton box. His effort however was poor and off-target, a huge let off early on for an Everton backline that was caught scrambling. Only 2 minutes later it was Calvert-Lewin’s chance to spurn a fantastic goal-scoring opportunity. The toffees’ number nine was through one on one with Muric in goal, but the keeper denied a relatively pandering effort from Calvert-Lewin.
Despite the misses from both sides, it was Everton that grasped the match, and their dominance was well rewarded with a goal. The 17th minute saw Jack Harrison cross in, and it was poorly dealt with. A brief scramble saw Ndiaye jump on the ball, take a touch and absolutely rifle one into the net past Muric for 0-1. A brilliant goal as a brilliant start to the season continues for Everton’s number ten.
Nine minutes later it seemed calamity had struck as Jack Clarke went down and was awarded a penalty. Fortunately, VAR showed that he kicked his own feet and was not actually touched by an Everton defender, and the call on the pitch was overturned. The decision led to a slight lull in the match, but a lull that saw Everton continue to, for the most part, dictate the pace of play and the flow of the match.
The 40th minute was when Dyche’s men would reap their rewards for their half of play, with a second goal to remember. A corner came in that was poorly dealt with by the hosts, with the ball eventually reaching Dwight McNeil. He turned with the ball brilliantly and found Michael Keane in the box. A tale as old as time, the defender fired a strike that would make Ronaldo blush, leaving Muric no chance and putting Everton up 0-2.
The more things changed in the second half, the more they stayed the same. Dyche’s men looked comfortable throughout, never really looking to concede. A dangerous front three of Hutchinson, Delap and Clarke were mostly anonymous, despite a vast amount of endeavor. However, Calvert-Lewin saw a few chances go begging, but played a great game up top. He controlled the ball well and won battles high up the pitch on more than one occasion, importantly linking the Everton attack.
Dyche would only make one substitution, an 82nd minute change that saw Orel Mangala come on for the once again explosively dynamic Iliman Ndiaye. One could hardly blame the manager for being hesitant to flinch, as a couple of horrid memories of two goal leads likely danced around in his head. However, today was not a day of mourning for the bless and an important 0-2 win sees Everton jump Ipswich Town in the standings.
Importantly, despite the absence of Branthwaite, the back four looked composed, collected and comfortable. Keane, despite one or two poor moments in defense, was largely faultless and scored a fantastic goal. The renaissance of Ashley Young continues as well, with the right back continuing to defy Father Time. This side continues to look more and more comfortable, and not for the first time, the news of Sean Dyche’s demise may have been slightly exaggerated. Next up, a home match against former Everton manager Marco Silva and Fulham.
UTFT!
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