Everton landed on the East Coast of the United States earlier this week where they will take part in three friendly games as part of the Premier League Summer Series alongside AFC Bournemouth, Manchester United and West Ham United.
The Toffees had faced off three times last season against the Cherries and were soundly beaten in all three, and things did not portend well for this afternoon in the Meadowlands of New York - New Jersey with James Tarkowski still recovering from his injury and Jarrad Branthwaite
picking up a minor knock that has seen him not travel across the pond.
Manager David Moyes named a pretty experimental lineup starting off in a 3-4-2-1 with Vitaliy Mykolenko and Nathan Patterson flanking Jake O’Brien in the backline. Dwight McNeil and James Garner were the wing backs with Idrissa Gueye and Tim Iroegbunam making up the midfield. Ahead of them were the pair of Iliman Ndiaye and Charly Alcaraz with Beto up top.
“Skiliman” Ndiaye for a reason
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The Blues started the game well with McNeil making runs forward on the left and Ndiaye going close early with a shot that flew just wide after being fed by Iroegbunam. The Cherries have been very creative under Andoni Iraola and showed that a few times in the first half, with Pickford getting called on to save a deflected shot from Hamed Traore.
Then Alcaraz came close to with forcing new Bournemouth goalie Djordje Petrovic to a full length save before the drinks break halfway through the first half on a hot sweltering mid-Atlantic summer day.
Garner then went into the book for a bad challenge on striker Evanilson with Ndiaye then finding Beto in the box for his shot to get blocked. Beto had one more chance before the halftime break, with Alcaraz playing him into space but the Petrovic made himself big to save the shot.
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Photo by Howard Smith/ISI Photos/ISI Photos via Getty ImagesThe honours could be probably evenly distributed after the first half but then Everton’s threadbare squad started to show their inexperience. There were no changes at the break, but then again there were few players Moyes could have used to make a difference either.
First Patterson got caught in possession just outside the box and the Blues were lucky not to be punished. Then Dango Ouattara fired off a shot that had to be blocked by Garner, but there was no stopping Philip Billing soon after. The Dane loves himself a goal against the Toffees, and his shot from outside the box left Pickford with little chance.
Billing then blasted over before Ouattara beat Patterson with a bit of a lucky deflection aiding him, and his shot went into the roof after coming off Pickford’s near post, the England #1 could have done a bit better there. 2-0 at the hour mark and Everton appeared to have no reply after.
Daniel Adu-Adjei made it 3-0 after 70 minutes following a horrible backpass from O’Brien left Pickford in no-man’s land and even though Thierno Barry came on for his Everton debut with Youssef Chermiti backing him up, there was nothing doing for the Blues in terms of saving face.
Earlier in the day Everton appear to have secured the services of young Bayern Munich left back Adam Aznou but appear to have been rebuffed in trying to add Olympique Lyon’s central midfielder Malick Fofana. Getting them in alongside some attacking reinforcements continues to be highest priority.
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