After a successful run out against Dundee, David Moyes packed up the bus for the short drive to Bolton. I was in the crowd when Everton last played here in preparation for the 23/24 season. The match was a turgid one which well earned the 0-0 score line.
Team News
The obvious questions were needed regarding the absence of Dibling, Hackney and Garner when the team news was published. Dibling had disappointed last week but was missing as a result of a knock, Garner had undergone an operation to address his groin
issue and Hackney was still ‘being integrated’. A first start of the preseason for Branthwaite was welcome news as David Moyes kept faith with Aznou at the back.
Match Report
After an early attack by Merlin Rohl, the first fifteen minutes had both sides struggling to put anything together. The first real action saw Rodrigues hit a beautiful long range shot which forced a very good save from Travers.
Everton had the ball in the net when Merlin Rohl drove forward and produced an excellent cross that was met by Barry. A quick check to the sideline saw the assistant referee holding his flag high to indicate offside.
The biggest chance of the half fell to Thierno Barry who should have done better when Armstrong drove down the right side and cut the ball back to Barry. Inside the six yard box and only the goalie to beat, the striker passed it right to the keeper.hIt took the Blues a while to get going but they controlled the last ten or fifteen minutes.
Dewsbury-Hall, Mykolenko and George were brought on to replace Aznou, Iroegbunam and Armstrong. The second half started with Barry driving forward but his link up with Aznou went begging. Travers had been replaced by Tom King and he was forced into an important save from Sam Dalby header.
Bolton had started the half well but the Everton back line was holding firm. Barry was replaced by Beto as Everton looked to break the deadlock.
The best chance for the Toffees in the second half saw Tyrique George’s free-kick headed back across goal by James Tarkwoski, but his centre-back partner Michael Keane got his connection all wrong and his header flew wide. Harvey Foster and Braiden Graham joined the match and played well with lots of pace and intent. Another youngster, Malik Olayiwola forced a good save from the Bolton keeper with a well hit shot.
The match ended with Everton having the majority of the chances but they could not break the deadlock.
Everton Man of the Match
Jarrad Branthwaite – It was clear from the start that the big lad was there to play and to lead. His composure on the ball, his willingness to stride forward, his willingness to go into a tackle were all on show today. He has been missed and it was great to see him get the start and get 45 minutes on the pitch.
Instant Reaction
This was another good runout for the team as they build up fitness. Throughout the match, Moyes stuck to a back five with wingbacks being utilised throughout. It was a 5-2-3-1 defending and 3-4-2-1 on the attack. When Branthwaite was replaced by Keane, we immediately went back to a 4-2-3-1 with O’Brien moving to RB. It will be interesting to see how Moyes moves forward when the season starts. Being flexible is important which has not been one of the gaffers strong suits.
Last week, we walked away from Dundee with four goals in the bag. The result flattered us as the goals were either huge deflections or huge errors by the Dundee keeper. Today, we didn’t get any of that and the lack of a scoring touch was obvious. Thierno Barry did lots of running and linked up well with Aznou and Rohl but he could not break the deadlock. Beto’s second half performance was lacking and his one effort on goal nearly went over the roof.
Overall, another chance to get some minutes into the legs. Branthwaite’s start was the highlight and Merlin Rohl and Aznou both impressed with their work as wingbacks. As I remember, it was a similar game to our last visit to Bolton. No goals and nothing much to write home about.
