Everton (Away) 03.04.2023

Bringing back Lloris and starting Kulusevski and Perisic, Stellini looked for a positive reaction to the week’s adversities.  The match started with Everton in typical style. A ball up the line to Kulusevski was won by Godfrey after he had grabbed Dejan around the face, with a finger in his eye. It looked like Dyche had taught his players his Burnley tactics of getting in players’ faces. There was little time or space as players were closing down quickly on either side. Gray had the first chance when he got the ball in the Tottenham box, but curled his effort over the left hand angle of Lloris’ goal within two minutes of kick off and soon it was Spurs who threatened when Porro made a good run behind the home defence, but he delayed his ball across a little, allowing it to be cleared.

With Spurs snapping into tackles in midfield, Hojbjerg won the ball and Skipp broke forward looking for Son to his left with a pass, but it hit a defender, rebounded across the box and dropped for Harry Kane. He took a touch and then shot at goal, wide of Pickford, but Keane was there to block it in front of the line. Keane was then in action at the other end, as he chested down a flicked on free-kick, but couldn’t keep his effort down.

Son was getting booed by the home crowd for his part in an injury to Andre Silva years ago, when the Everton player fell into him after being tackled. They even claimed handball when the ball was smacked against a Spurs player from point blank range. Dier had played a fine diagonal ball out to Perisic, with the Croat providing a great cross for Kane to head, but he angled it wide. Godfrey had a shot on 23 minutes, which hit Dier, but went wide and when the corner was cleared, Kulusevski was again bundled off the pitch by Godfrey.

Following a break for Muslim players to take a drink during Ramadan, play resumed, with Doucoure scooping a low ball into the box over the bar. Tottenham were looking a little disjointed, but they had looked a bit more attacking than in many first 45 minutes this season. Both sides were being stopped around the 18 yard line, but with seven minutes until half-time, Perisic went down after being caught by a nasty kick on the ankle by Coleman, going in very late and then Dier followed a pass and won it against Tarkowski, who pulled out of it, twisting his knee in the process. The Goodison fans were booing everything that moved in a white shirt and the referee was falling for it, allowing Tarkowski for a particularly bad kick on Kane’s ankle after he had been turned.

The half-time break came and when play restarted Spurs got caught playing the ball out from the back when Onana robbed Dier and Gueye was clear bearing down on the 18 yard line, but he had a rush of blood and thundered the ball way into the Gwladys Street end. Spurs settled down and started knocking the ball around, winning a corner but when it was cleared, Porro lifted a shot over the top. Tottenham were losing the ball too easily, even gifting it as Romero did when looking to play out once more and hopeful balls forward were only finding blue shirts. Another hand around the face, this time by Onana on Porro was given as a free-kick, but no more than that. One more raised hand was actually seen by the referee. Kane bundled Gray over and Doucoure decided to get involved with Kane pulling his shirt, with the Everton man reacting by throwing a hand into Harry’s face giving the referee no option other than to bring out a red card. As expected Dyche had a lot to say about it and the referee just took it, but showed Kane a yellow card.

So, now, the Everton supporters had something else to boo, so they were happy. Their team went 4-4-1 and from Everton having the majority of possession, Spurs now had a lot of the ball, but had to break down the stubborn home defence. A long cross from the right found Perisic, who headed the ball down beyond the far post and as Keane went to clear, Romero nipped in ahead of him to get the ball and get his ankles taken away. Pickford took as much time as he could in delaying the penalty, with Kane sending the keeper the wrong way, planting the ball into the keeper’s right bottom corner with 22 minutes left.  The home crowd were sick as the player they blamed for Doucoure’s sending off was the man who put Tottenham into the lead.

Spurs were still getting caught playing the ball out and when Romero was played into trouble around the penalty area, he found Dier, who had to boot the ball away, but it was played into Gray, who could only shoot straight at Lloris. The Spurs keeper had to push a Gueye shot over the bar after losing it again over-playing at the back. From the corner, Keane headed down, but it was at Lloris, who held it comfortably.

Everton made a double sub, while Stellini brought on Sanchez for Lenglet, who was on a yellow card and probably needed for the giant Simms, who came off the home bench. Romero got booked for a foul when his touch was too hard and the ball ran away from him, then there was another desperate shout for a penalty when the ball hit Porro on the elbow that was tucked behind his back. Son, who had been disappointing, was replaced by Moura with ten minute to go, while Everton made two more changes and it was Spurs who looked more nervous, not putting the home team under pressure and allowing them the ball.  Sanchez rashly tackled Garner and gave away a free-kick 25 yards out, but Garner dinked the ball straight out of play.  Then Moura lunged at the ball as it ran away from him but only caught Keane on the shin and was rightly shown the way off the pitch by the referee. It left a couple of minutes and added time for Spurs to hold out. Everton were coming on strong as Spurs dropped back and when they stood off Keane, he took the invitation to fire a shot that left Lloris standing with 16 seconds of normal time remaining.  It was asking for it and although it was a shot out of nothing, Spurs should have managed the game better.

Perisic found some space in the Everton box and tried to beat Pickford at his near post, but it went wide and the referee didn’t think it came off a defender. Then three minutes into added time, a ball into the Tottenham area bounced around before it fell for Tarkowski, who hit a hard shot at goal that thankfully was blocked by Dier and was cleared. Lloris then blasted a clearance against Davies, with the ball ballooning off for a goal-kick and then Kulusevski got into the box at the other end and his shot was deflected out for a corner that was headed away with the final whistle going to end the battle that had gone before.

The aggressive approach adopted by the Toffees was almost their downfall, but the inability to control the match when a man up cost Tottenham two points. The hard done by home support were still booing as the teams went off, but Doucoure has nobody but himself to blame for raising his hand and it was probably the crowd’s questioning every decision that made him think he would get away with it. He will miss games in the run-in now, which is probably more important to Everton than Moura’s forthcoming ban will mean to us.

It leaves Spurs unlikely to qualify for the Champions League, losing points here and another game that clubs around them will have in hand on them. Having lost two points at St, Mary’s, it was not what the team needed or the club after a mad couple of weeks. The point takes us into fourth, but on the same points as Mancashter United.  The point was a better result for Everton than it was for us.

The reaction of the home crowd to every incident was embarrassing.  Prime example being when Skipp went down after a clash of heads, they all booed when the Everton player returned the ball to Tottenham.  Desperate times at Goodison are turning the once knowledgeable fans into a rabid mob and that desperation isn’t for success, it’s for survival.  And it wasn’t just off the pitch that behaviour was a little out of control.  Their manager’s covering of his mouth while making comments to our players and officials was indicative that he wold get in trouble if he hadn’t done so.  Dyche’s harassment of the referee was outrageous, as he probably had a better view than the official but still claimed it wasn’t a sending off.  He wouldn’t know a decision against his side if it smacked HIM in the face.  I don’t know why officials take the abuse they get from other managers when Conte was often booked or sent off for it.  It seems like another level of inconsistency that referees employ, but, on a day when there is a focus on grassroots refs having to wear bodycams, they won’t get respect until they stamp down on it at the top level.  And why aren’t people talking about Godfrey’s first minute hand in the face of Kulusevski ?  It was potentially more dangerous than Doucoure’s but little has been mentioned about it, perhaps because it was so early in the match, although that shouldn’t matter.

The conceding of late goals is becoming an unwelcome habit and unless we are now at least four goals ahead, it probably means we will lose points.  This one was one that could only have been stopped if someone had come out to Keane to have a chance of blocking it, but we have now conceded 41 goals – the most in the top 12 … including Crystal Palace.  It’s as many as Everton have let in and only the bottom five and Wolves have let in more.  I think the loss of Rodrigo Bentancur has been devastating as his defensive work and his high pressing is greatly missed.  He also makes the team tick by moving the ball quickly and accurately when we break out.  And it looked as though that was what we were playing for once we had a man advantage, trying to soak up what Everton created and to hit on the counter-attack.  If that didn’t work against ten-man Everton, I hope it is not something that we try against Brighton on Saturday.

Sparky Marky

• Harry Kane’s goal was his 250th goal or assist in the Premier League.