Everton (Home) 15.10.2022

Having played in mid-week, you might have expected the fresher legs of Everton to test Tottenham, but they were content to sit back and soak up the pressure Spurs tried to apply.  Ably assisted by some dubious officiating from referee Tierney, whose only consistency was his inconsistency, Everton ensured that Spurs struggled in a first half to find ways through to goal.

Early attacks saw Tarkowski block a Kane header and one over from Richarlison before Heung-Min Son darted into the box past a couple of players to be baulked and knocked to the floor, but Tierney wasn’t giving a penalty.  A free-kick eight yards outside the box looked a promising position, with Son taking responsibility for taking it, but he rammed the ball into the wall.  There was another free-kick for Spurs, this time back in their own half when Maupay caught Eric Dier late with an elbow as they went up for an aerial battle.  The Everton forward was astounded that he received a yellow card, which I suppose was VAR approved, but thinking back to Brighton away last season, Maupay did exactly the same thing at about the same point in the match.

The Toffees’ big summer signing Amadou Onana picked up the ball in midfield and strode forward into the space to the left and as he got to the box, Cristian Romero made good ground to catch him up and make a well-timed tackle to avert the danger by playing the ball off Onana for a goal-kick.  Spurs built play and a smart pass down the left channel that produced a shot that flew off Tarkowski that ballooned just over the bar, but from the corner, Everton played a long pass forward down the right for Demarai Gray to race clear into the box, shrugging off Rodrigo Bentancur.  When faced with Hugo Lloris, the Everton winger went for a shot that was meant for the top corner at Hugo’s near post, but instead went too high and into the South Stand instead.  Son made a really good block as Coleman struck a drive from the edge of the box after Romero headed away a free-kick and Tarkowski won the corner, but could only drift a header back across goal and wide from the far post.

On the half-hour, Kane danced past another defender tight to the dead-ball line, then nut-megged Gueye as he made his way to goal from the right, but Pickford got down at his feet to save.  The England keeper certainly likes the sound of his own voice and twice he ran halfway towards the halfway line to shout at the referee and twice he was spoken to by the referee, once with the captain called to join them.  You have to ask why do officials take such dissent without showing a card ?  Pickford had no right to dispute the official’s decision, with further back-chat aimed at the linesman in his half after being allowed to continue unpunished.  And punished by the referee was Bentancur when he tackled Onana, with what looked like a contact with the ball, but the referee was having no second thoughts about it, when he had let similar challenges go earlier in the match … and in fact minutes later when he took the ball through the middle of Everton’s midfield before being brought down, but Tierney said fairly !

It looked as though another yellow (or even a red) might be on the way as Romero launched himself into a fully committed challenge in the centre-circle, but he won it cleanly (thank goodness) and the ball went through to Richarlison, whose shot was deflected for a corner.  Spurs failed to make anything from it and suddenly, Onana was breaking forward on the left side of midfield in the Spurs half again.  It stemmed from Romero and Hojbjerg going for the same ball and leaving it for each other with Everton getting the bounce that allowed Onana to go on to create a mirror image of Gray’s effort, putting it over the bar at the right side of Hugo’s goal.

Dwight McNeil, who looked a half-decent player at Burnley, had been largely anonymous until he brought down Matt Doherty after he tricked his way past two Everton players 25 yards from goal.  Son’s free-kick was cleared and then Kane worked a move down the right wing to put in a low ball to the near post that Richarlison knocked over the bar on the volley under pressure from Mykolenko.  That was it for what was a disappointing first half, with lots of petty fouls and time-wasting from the visitors and lots of effort, but not enough guile from Tottenham.

An injury five minutes into the second half for Richarlison saw him hit the ground and hold his calf, which didn’t look good as he limped off gingerly to be replaced by Yves Bissouma.  With three in midfield behind the attackers, it helped solidify the base that Spurs played from.   Immediately, the chances started to come.  Ben Davies delivered a pin-point cross from the left that gave Kane the opportunity to strike a thunderous volley at goal that Pickford beat out, only to Son, but he could not keep his shot down and it sailed over.  Perisic then found Son at the near post when he flighted in a ball from the left, but it was a weak header that Pickford collected, but in the next attack Spurs were a bit more decisive.  

When Perisic’s ball across the box ran through everyone to Doherty, the right wing-back struck a first-time shot, low left-footed that Pickford should have swallowed up, getting down behind the ball.  However, he somehow let it slither out of his grasp and Harry was on it like a flash.  As he did so, he knocked the ball forward and Pickford’s attempt to recover the ball only resulted in him knocking Kane over.  The referee had no doubt for once and pointed to the spot, but there was a massive hold-up while Everton players surrounded Kane, the referee and anyone else who looked like they might be able to unnerve (following in their manager’s foot-steps as a player), with Pickford failing to retreat back to his line in gamesmanship following Harry’s penalty miss on Wednesday.  When the Everton players deigned to get out of the penalty area, it was Kane v Pickford and although the keeper guessed right, diving to his right, Harry struck the ball with such power that even if he had reached it, the ball would still have found the net.  It had taken almost an hour, but the tiring legs of the elderly Toffees defenders and the energy the new formation had given Spurs paid off. 

After that, it was mainly one-way traffic.  Romero roamed forward, played it to Kane just inside the box and Harry turned and hit it in an instance.  Pickford made a meal of saving it, knocking it away with his hands at his feet as he crouched down.  Despite having little to worry about in defence, it took until five minutes before full-time to wrap up the points.  Bissouma headed an intended forward pass by Everton, halfway inside his own half and as it came down Kane knocked it to his right away from Mykolenko, waited for Rodrigo to over-lap him and slid a pass down the right wing to the Uruguayan.  His first time ball into the box picked out Pierre Hojbjerg, along on the 18 yard line in the middle of the D.  He controlled the bouncing ball, which allowed Iwobi to get goal-side, but with Son moving to his left as a decoy, he moved the ball onto his right foot and picked out a shot that grazed off Iwobi as it went over Pickford’s dive and inside his left-hand post.  it was a great link-up between the two central midfielders who were freed to move forward by the introduction of Bissouma.  It may well be the Plan B that the press have been saying that Conte didn’t have, although it takes time to develop tactics within a new squad.

A big header away by Davinson Sanchez to a cross into the Spurs box was the ending to the action in the game and an Everton fan who said Spurs the win like it was worth six points doesn’t know a) how Spurs celebrate wins as a team and b) probably can’t remember what it is like to celebrate a win.  The fact that it was against Lampost makes it all the sweeter and the nature of what Spurs were up against it was a very good victory.  Sides who don’t want to play are hard to get around and Conte is drilling into Tottenham how to do that. 

Not a game that is going to be remembered for a long time, but three points and third place will do nicely as we have a hard week ahead with visits to Gold Trafford and St. James’ Park.

Ewan Oosarmi

• Harry Kane makes his 400th appearance for Tottenham.
• Kane scores in five consecutive Premier League matches for the first time.
• Tottenham’s start to the season is their best since 1963-1964.