A lot of discussion had been centred around the return of Dominic Calvert-Lewin to face the club that he spent nine years at leading the line. DCL has had something of a renaissance with Leeds and before
the match had 9 league goals after not scoring that many for Everton since 2020.
The Toffees had produced one of their best matches of the season against Aston Villa last week. Heading into the match, Everton had lost just one of their last 16 home league games against Leeds (W8 D7), going down 1-0 in November 2020. The issue for the Blues was their recent home form which had them picking up just 7 points from their last 7 home games.
Team News
The disappointing announcement that Jack Grealish may need surgery to repair a stress fracture in his foot and could miss the rest of the season was devastating news but this was tempered by the other team news with Jarrad Branthwaite, Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall, Charly Alcaraz and Seamus Coleman all making the bench.
Ultimately, David Moyes made two changes with Grealish out and Merlin Rohl dropped to the bench. Idrissa Gueye and Iliman Ndiaye were right back into the side.
Daniel Farke made two changes to the Leeds side that beat Fulham 1-0 last Saturday. Noah Okafor was dropped to the bench and Gabriel Gudmundsson missed out with injury. Replacing them were Anton Stach and Sebastiaan Bornauw.
Match Report
A minute of applause for Tommy Wright preceded the kickoff. Simon Hooper was the man in the middle as Garner kicked off the match. A quick start gave the Blues an early corner but Leeds scrambled the ball away. Ndiaye was then taking on three defenders and that early pressure continued.
Leeds were given the chance for a shot by Stach but it was well over. Calvert Lewin got himself into the box but Jake O’Brien was having none of it. Ndiaye broke forward and Barry’s touch was a little heavy and the chance went begging.
Thierno Barry was on the ground and the physios were looking at his left knee. Beto was warming up although Barry was able to return. Leeds were pushing forward and Bogle had his shot blocked by Tarkowski. Everton had a good spell on the ball but they could not break through.
Leeds were getting some joy down the left with Aaronson their target man with Patterson and McNeil were doubling up on him. Mykolenko took down Bogle and was given a stern warning by Hooper. The Everton faithful delivered a hearty “Here We Go” to get the team going. The game had it’s first goal when Everton’s left side allowed Leeds to just walk through them and James Justin slotted the ball home. It had been coming.
Leeds were looking for another when Aaronson drove into the box but Patterson was there to clear it for a corner. Everton were all over the place and when Aaronson drove into the box, only the post saved Pickford when Dominic Calvert-Lewin met the cross.
Simon Hooper blew his whistle which took away an Everton advantage which was not well received by the Hill Dickinson crowd. Everton were finishing the half on a high note as Garner broke into the box but his shot went wide of the near post. As the whistle was blown, the Everton crowd delivered a round of boos to show the team what they thought of the first half display.
David Moyes saw the need to change things and he brought on Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall and Jarrad Branthwaite for McNeil and Armstrong which switched the team to a back three with Patterson and Mykolenko moving into a wingback position which counteracts the Leeds system.
Everton were getting more on the ball in the early minutes and the crowd was getting into it when Barry was taken down on the edge of the box. Hooper then gave the first yellow card when Stach went in heavily on Mykolenko. This was quickly followed by a yellow card for Gruev when he dragged down Ndiaye.
Everton were controlling the play but it was possession without purpose until Gueye rolled a ball into Ndiaye and it was only a great block from Bornauw that denied Everton the tying goal. Leeds broke forward and the shot from Stach did not trouble Pickford. Moments later, Barry used the outside of his boot to curl it into the far corner but it took a great save from Darlow to keep the lead in tact.
Leeds made their first change with Tanaka being brought on for Gruev. Leeds were in a low block and were hoping that Everton could not break them down. Moyes saw that and brought on Dibling to replace Patterson. Everton started to exert some pressure but they were not able to break the back line.
Ndiaye took things into his own hands and drove across the box. The resulting corner from KDH was awful. Leeds were allowing us to come at them and when Gueye went for a run down the wing, his cross was accurate and was met by Barry who lifted it over Darlow to score his 5th goal of the season.
Everton were inches away from a turnaround when Everton confidently passed the ball around the edge of the box and when Gueye delivered the shot, it rattled the bar but came back into play. The Evertonians were on the edge of their seats in full voice.
Everton continued to push for a second so Leeds made a triple change with Aaronson, Stach, Bornauw departing with Longstaff, Buonanotte and Okafor replacing them. Thierno Barry was withdrawn for Beto as Buonanotte was given a yellow for wasting time. Four minutes of added time was announced as Everton pushed for a winner.
A last minute corner for Leeds was met by Justin but his header was wide. That was the last action as Simon Hooper ended the match. Calvert-Lewin spent some time catching up with the Everton players although the boys in blue had to be happy that he had not scored.
Everton’s Man of the Match
Idrissa Gueye: The immediate inclusion of the feisty midfielder added steel to the middle of the park but it was his attacking play that made him stand out. Unfortunately, after a lacklustre first half when he was mostly a pedestrian as Leeds attacked at will and found him lacking often, he found another gear in the second half.
He repeatedly overlapped on the right side and his delivery to Barry for the Everton goal was excellent. He was also unlucky when his shot hit the bar which would have given Everton the win. With 2 chances created, 9 defensive contributions, 9 passes into the final third, 6 recoveries and 3 interceptions, his overall contribution to the team had a huge impact.
Instant Reaction
A single point at home was not the plan but after the very poor performance in the first half, the point was appreciated at full time. This was a strategic battle between Farke and Moyes. In the first half, Everton could not match Leeds who were playing with three at the back which allowed them to overload when they went forward. Thankfully, Leeds could not get a second goal which allowed Moyes to respond and match up with three at the back. The second half belonged to the Blues and, like Leeds, could not get the second. A match of two halves.
Leeds were bossing the match with Aaronson having all of the best possession. That was possible because Dwight McNeil was allowing them the space that they needed. On the goal, he was running back with Justin and for some reason McNeil just slowed down and let Justin walk into the shot unattended. For some reason which I do not understand, Moyes continues to play McNeil. Today, he was a detriment and at half time, McNeil was withdrawn which allowed us to play with three at the back and have us push our fullbacks forward.
Thierno Barry is paying back the faith that David Moyes has placed in the young forward. With four goals in his last five matches is starting to show the potential that he showed during his time in Spain. He seems to be more relaxed and he is growing as the season continues. Another big call for Moyes if we see the departure of Beto and the arrival of another forward who will push Barry and potentially push him out of the team.
Harrison Armstrong made his third straight start and there is no question that Moyes has a big call to make regarding the young midfielder. With the squad closer to being full, the chances for Armstrong will be harder to come by. His performance today was his weakest and his withdrawl at half time was needed with the quality that was available on the bench. I would send him back to Preston to give him more time on the pitch to continue his growth.
After the match, James Garner summed it up:
“I think in the first half we were sloppy and weren’t at the races. We had to change something and the manager did. In the second half we were much the better team and probably should have won it.
We went into the game trying to get the three points but the first half wasn’t good enough. We needed to react and we did. We’ll take the point and move on. We need to start putting it into the performances at home. We are very good away so we need to bring that form home.”
