Everton opened their season with a visit from Crystal Palace at Hill Dickinson Stadium. After the somewhat controversial press conference from David Moyes where he seemed to be at odds with the club, it was now important to put that aside to focus on the first match of the new season.
The visiting Eagles arrived under new manager Pierre Sage following an offseason of significant squad transition for the club with the departures of Oliver Glasner and Max Lacroix. Coming into the match, Everton had
won eight of their past 12 home meetings with Crystal Palace, drawing the other four. In fact, Crystal Palace had won just one of their last 23 Premier League matches against Everton.
Team News
Just one change from the starting line-up from last Saturday’s match as Tyrique George comes in for Tyler Dibling. So, Rohl was at right back and Ndiaye moved over to the right. The big surprise was the inclusion of James Garner on the bench!
For Palace, there could me no quicker return to your former club than Dwight McNeil who started for the Eagles after his move from Everton. Dean Henderson recovered from a late injury but Ismaila Sarr was missing. The often linked Adam Wharton was in the middle of the park.
Match Report
A rousing rendition of “Forever Everton” was sung before kickoff. The sun was cracking the flagstones as the match got underway with Paul Tierney the man in the middle. Palace were quick to get settled on the ball with Everton getting into the tackles with some gusto. An early opportunity saw Tarkowski poorly head a ball which fell to Nketiah who slipped it to Mateta, but his shot went over the bar.
Some nice interplay led to George attempting a cross into the box, but it was intercepted. Palace poured forward and a great block by Rohl prevented a big chance. Dwight McNeil had his first shot at his former team, but it was blocked. The first save from Pickford was an easy one from the foot of Daniel Munoz.
Everton broke out with KDH sliding a lovely ball to Rohl who put it back to Ndiaye and his shot produced a very good save from Dean Henderson. Everton were pushing and Rohl was central to the forward play.
A beautiful ball into Nketiah had Pickford in trouble, but the England #1 made a world class save from point blank range, palming the ball onto the post. Moments later, a mazy run from Ndiaye led to Everton’s first corner. Hackney delivered it and when Branthwaite went down the crowd was calling for a penalty, but he was offside. VAR delayed the restart for a long time to check for the offside which was eventually confirmed.
Kamada was given a yellow card for taking down Barry. The free kick saw Mateta head the ball which then deflected off Ndiaye. Both teams were trying to make quick breakouts but they could not get any clear chances. Ndiaye drove forward again and his layoff to George saw the winger have his shot blocked. The ensuing long throw from Mykolenko ended with George shooting just wide of the far post.
Wharton was the starting point for another Palace chance and when Nketiah slid the ball into Mateta, it was harder to miss than score but that is exactly what he did as the ball came back off the post. Worryingly, Branthwaite hobbled away from the play.
Dewsbury-Hall drove forward and his ball into Barry was a good one but he took his eye off the ball and the chance went begging. Seconds later, KDH drove forward and had his shot blocked but when he was given the ball again, his left footed shot was a bullet which nestled into the far corner. A well-deserved lead.
Everton tried to play out the four additional minutes but Palace had a final chance when Munoz was at the back post but his header went narrowly wide.The sun was cracking the flagstones as the match got underway with Paul Tierney the man in the middle. Palace were quick to get settled on the ball with Everton getting into the tackles with some gusto. An early opportunity saw Tarkowski poorly head a ball which fell to Nketiah who slipped it to Mateta, but his shot went over the bar.
Some nice interplay led to George attempting a cross into the box, but it was intercepted. Palace poured forward and a great block by Rohl prevented a big chance. Dwight McNeil had his first shot at his former team, but it was blocked. The first save from Pickford was an easy one from the foot of Daniel Munoz.
Everton broke out with KDH sliding a lovely ball to Rohl who put it back to Ndiaye and his shot produced a very good save from Dean Henderson. Everton were pushing and Rohl was central to the forward play.
A beautiful ball into Nketiah had Pickford in trouble, but the England #1 made a world class save from point blank range, palming the ball onto the post. Moments later, a mazy run from Ndiaye led to Everton’s first corner. Hackney delivered it and when Branthwaite went down the crowd was calling for a penalty, but he was offside. VAR delayed the restart for a long time to check for the offside which was eventually confirmed.
Kamada was given a yellow card for taking down Barry. The free kick saw Mateta head the ball which then deflected off Ndiaye. Both teams were trying to make quick breakouts but they could not get any clear chances. Ndiaye drove forward again and his layoff to George saw the winger have his shot blocked. The ensuing long throw from Mykolenko ended with George shooting just wide of the far post.
Wharton was the starting point for another Palace chance and when Nketiah slid the ball into Mateta, it was harder to miss than score but that is exactly what he did as the ball came back off the post. Worryingly, Branthwaite hobbled away from the play.
Dewsbury-Hall drove forward and his ball into Barry was a good one but he took his eye off the ball and the chance went begging. Seconds later, KDH drove forward and had his shot blocked but when he was given the ball again, his left footed shot was a bullet which nestled into the far corner. A well-deserved lead.
Everton tried to play out the four additional minutes but Palace had a final chance when Munoz was at the back post but his header went narrowly wide.
Palace kicked off the second half and looked to get a quick response but a nice tackle from Hackney gave Barry another chance but his shot was blocked. Rohl overlapped again and forced a corner, but Henderson punched clear. Everton were pressing high which was causing issues for the Eagles. A lovely quick move from Everton ended with KDH shooting wildly over the bar.
The lead was doubled when Iliman Ndiaye took a quick free kick from Hackney and the cross was met by Barry who drove it down into the back of the Palace goal. The Prime Minister was the first on his feet to acknowledge the goal.
Palace switched out Nketiah and Munoz for Pino and Khalaili. Everton looked to make it three when Barry took a pass from KDH and lobbed it into the box which forced a great save from the Ndiaye shot. Everton were being driven on by a stirring rendition of “Spirit of the Blues”.
Palace tried to slow the game down and also took off Mateta and McNeil for Strand Larsen and Guessand. McNeil was given a warm response from the crowd. Hackney took a knock when Strand Larsen clipped the midfielder.
Pickford was forced into another comfortable save when Guessand struck a low shot. When Mykolenko cut a ball back to Barry, the striker screened the ball and in the move he pushed Riad who went down with a knee injury which required a stretcher. Tomiasu was brought on to replace him.
After the restart, the Blues had another chance but the shot from George was poor. David Moyes waited 77 minutes before he brought on Beto and Garner for Barry and Hackney. The game had slowed down as Palace struggled to pierce the Everton back line. A great block from Branthwaite took the pressure off Pickford.
Brennan Johnson was given a warm reception as he was given the chance to shine against his former employer. Everton got on the ball and KDH whipped a ball into the box but Johnson was a step too slow at the back post. KDH slid a ball into Johnson who took on two defenders and was dragged down. The resulting free kick was taken by KDH and scuffed by Mitchell who forced a save from his own keeper.
Pickford was forced into another save when Strand Larsen headed goalward. As 7 minutes of additional time ticked away, KDH was withdrawn for Charlie Alcaraz. When Rohl missed a tackle on Pino, the winger was let down when his shot went miles over the bar. It was the last action as Tierney blew his whistle and the Evertonians cheered.
Everton’s Man of the Match
Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall – A commanding performance in the middle of the park. Up against Adam Wharton, KDH won that dual throughout the match. His game was balanced with contributions offensively and defensively. His passing accuracy was 89%, he created 2 chances and blocked one shot. He had 7 passes into the final third and 5 line-breaking passes. [Data from FotMob]
Instant Reaction
After the first 15 minutes, the Blues grew in confidence and deserved their lead when KDH scored before the end of the first half. A quick start to the second half saw them double the lead and then control the rest of the match. A very good first win and a settled starting lineup was well balanced. It was a team win with some excellent interplay. We ended with an xG of 1.16 to Palace’s 2.04 but the scoreline was very different.
The defensive solidity of the Blues with Branthwaite and Tarkowski harkened back to their previous work together which saw the team in the top 3 defensively. The covering play of Rohl and Mykolenko prevented any wide play from developing. Long may it continue.
Our midfield pairing of Armstrong and Hackney was very solid. They covered lots of ground and consistently broke up the play. To see Garner on the pitch in the last few minutes was a big surprise but a lovely surprise nonetheless. How good is it to have depth in this area of the pitch. With Norgaard still to come, we are looking good.
We need a right back to support Rohl. He had another excellent outing and showed that he can play at this level. I was very disappointed to see Patterson on the bench ahead of Aznou. The German was very good in preseason and doesn’t even make the bench. What is that about?
David Moyes went through the entire summer without much contact with the media. He remained quiet when signings were made and the noise around no right back signing swirled around the club. During his pre-match press conference he appeared to be at odds with the club, defiantly calling for more signings. With this being the last year of his contract, you wonder what is going on behind the scenes.
Player Ratings
Pickford – A save of the season candidate in the first 15 minutes of the season. A calm day and a first clean sheet. What else do you want.
Mykolenko – Did the job defensively and his long throws caused Palace issues.
Tarkowski – A poor header led to Palace’s first chance, Made some important t ackles to break up the Palace play.
Branthwaite – Marshalled Mateta nicely and was calm on the ball as usual.
Rohl – Some great overlapping runs and his running never stopped.
Hackney – His play in the middle was excellent as he broke up the play and was willing to look for the quick outlet pass. Very solid.
Dewsbury-Hall – All over the pitch and was involved in most of Everton’s best moves forward. His goal was beautifully taken.
Armstrong – The young midfielder is building a great relationship with Hackney and was all action throughout.
Ndiaye – Another game where his skill was front and centre. Grew into the game and became the outlet pass and driving force although he was also willing to get back and do the dirty work in defense.
George – A very clinical piece of wide play from the young winger. His close ball work was on display throughout and his interplay with those around him was well received by the crowd. Barry – A quiet start but took his goal really well. My biggest criticism was his dance but it is early in the season!!
