Their logo has an eagle looking ready for takeoff and when Crystal Palace landed at Hill Dickinson Stadium they were a team that were soaring. The Eagles were looking to remain unbeaten for a 13th consecutive Premier League game with three wins in a row including an impressive 2-1 win over the Reds.
With Palace sitting fifth in the table and the Toffees in 10th, there was plenty to play for as both teams needed to continue their rise up the table. Everton had lost just one of their last 21 Premier
League meetings with Crystal Palace (W11 D9) but you sensed this was going to be a difficult one for the boys in blue. With seven of their last 10 matches drawn at home, David Moyes needed to get three points to continue their unbeaten streak at the new stadium.
Team News
The biggest miss for Everton was the suspension to Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall. Even though the PLMOL agreed that his last two yellows were given in error, he was still required to sit out this match. The big question was who would replace KDH in the middle of the park and that was Ndiaye who moved to the middle with Tyler Dibling getting his first Premier League start on the right. Jarrad Branthwaite and Merlin Rohl were still in the treatment room.
Oliver Glasner kept faith with the side that beat Liverpool last time out in the Premier League.
Match Report
A windy day on the banks of the Mersey as Palace kicked off in an all white strip. An early long throw led to a quick corner which was delivered by Wharton and a shot by Pino was tricky for Pickford because he didn’t see it until the last moment but he palmed the ball away.
A nice break out from Everton saw Grealish record the first shot on net which was handled well by Henderson. Moments later, O’Brien was penalized for a soft push and the free kick was well defended. Palace had started the match very well with Everton struggling to get on the ball.
Palace had their first big chance when Sarr sliced the Everton defense open with a ball that was nicely controlled by Mateta who struck the ball low and hard. Thankfully, Pickford got a strong hand down and put the ball out of play.
Everton’s first serious chance was delivered by Garner and bounced into the path of the outstretched leg of Barry who could not make contact. Everton would rue that chance as the deadlock was broken when Sarr delivered another great pass, this time to Munoz, who slid the ball under a diving Pickford. It was indicative of the match up to that point.
A quick counter attack by Everton fell to Barry who just could not get the ball out of his feet and spurned another chance. It was then Garner who delivered a nice ball which was controlled by Mykolenko but his ball into the middle was picked up by Ndiaye but he could not wriggle his way out of trouble. The first half ended shortly after that with the frustrated Evertonians showing their displeasure.
The second half started with Charly Alcaraz and Beto coming in from the start and the difference was immediate with Ndiaye moving to the right and Alcaraz playing through the middle. The pressure on Palace was immediate and the Evertonians responded.
Everton were controlling the play and another nice ball from Garner was met by Beto but Henderson was there to catch the header. When Grealish took down Wharton, Keane went down and needed treatment for a hip issue. Moments later, Mateta was on the ball and it was a great defensive clearance by Tarkowski to save a tap in for Palace.
An absolute let off by Mykolenko and Grealish let Mateta break in and he was able to chip over Pickford but O’Brien was there to head it away. The game should have been done and dusted when Mateta had Everton on the ropes and somehow dragged his shot wide of a gaping goal.
Keane finally succumbed to his injury and was replaced by Iroegbunam. Right from the restart, Alcaraz intercepted a pass and drove forward and his driven shot was palmed over the bar by Henderson.
Yéremi Pino was given a yellow for a challenge on Garner and in the end both players were given yellow cards.
Mateta was replaced by Nketiah as Everton tried to push for an equalizer. Grealish was fouled and Garner could not make anything of the free kick. Mykolenko curled a lovely ball into the path of Beto but he missed it and it ran into the path of Iroegbunam who was taken down by Lacroix in the box and the referee took no time to point to the box.
Iliman Ndiaye picked up the ball and waited for Henderson to stop wasting time. When he stepped up to the penalty he sent Henderson the wrong way and the Everton Wall of Fans which used to by the Gwladys Street End erupted. Game on!
Everton pushed forward and when they pressed for a second, Ismail Sarr went down in the box and the referee blew the whistle for a head injury. After the restart, Grealish bombed forward and took a low shot which was saved by Henderson. Lerma was brought on for Kamada as Glasner tried to counter the fatigue that was setting in for his team.
Wharton was given a yellow card for a rash challenge on Gueye. The crowd was showing their support for the improved performance of their team. Munoz was given a yellow card for wasting time. Palace took off Sarr and Pino for Uche and Devenny.
The game was turned on it’s head when Ndiaye drove for the touchline and dinked a ball to Beto who somehow dad his header stopped by Henderson but the Palace clearance hit Grealish and bulged the back of the old onion bag!
Palace were reeling and when Uche punched Tarkowski in the stomach there was a check for violent conduct but it was ignored. Everton needed to manage the rest of the injury time and when the eight minutes ended and more than three minutes were added to the eight. A long throw caused a scramble in the Everton box but there was an incredible roar around the Hill Dickinson Stadium as the match ended.
Everton’s Man of the Match
Charly Alcaraz: Alcaraz provided an assist and scored the winning goal in Everton’s 2-1 victory at Selhurst Park in February, the last time these sides met, was not in the starting lineup today. When he was brought on at the start of the second half there was an immediate change in the balance of play. Alcaraz pushed the Blues forward and as Palace faded, the young Argentinian forced the play and was involved in the buildup to the penalty and also the pass to Ndiaye who neatly lobbed the ball into the box for the winning goal. Alcaraz has struggled to show Moyes his best this season but today he was a difference maker.
Instant Reaction
Interestingly, in 1969, Crystal Palace achieved an impressive 18-game unbeaten streak. However, their luck took a turn in their next game against Everton, where they lost 2-1. I can say that I was at that match. Sadly, today I was not, but I enjoyed it just as much. Palace have been on a tear and the second half display was great as Everton. The move at half time to take out Barry and Dibling changed the game. Moyes may be criticized for holding his cards but that wasn’t the case today and the win was deserved. Everton moved up to 7th with only City’s match to go before the international break.
Jack Grealish was kept on the left side after there was lots of calls for him to move into the middle. Today, he took a couple of shots in the first half which was being called for by the manager and his goal to win the game was the reward that the winger deserved for his start to life in a royal blue shirt.
Two home matches and two insipid first half displays. Getting the team ready to go and motivating them to start quickly falls to the manager and the players. Today, we had and xG of 0.04 in the first half which is just short of nothing. We were playing without Dewsbury-Hall and he was sorely missed in the middle. Ismaila Sarr had complete control of the middle and Gueye struggled to shut down any forward play that Palace attempted.
Charly Alcaraz, who provided an assist and scored the winning goal in Everton’s 2-1 victory at Selhurst Park in February, the last time these sides met, was not in the starting lineup. Neither was striker Beto, who had scored the first goal that night, but was instead dropped for Thierno Barry. Today, he staked a claim to more time on the pitch with his game changing appearance.
Before the match, David Moyes said: “We’ve changed them around a bit this season. I just think it’s a good opportunity to give Barry another go. We’re trying to push him along gently without going too fast.” It will be interesting to see what happens over the next few weeks as Moyes reflects on the difference between the two halves when Barry was in and when Beto took over.
