Everton vs West Brom... Match report and MotM Poll.

[hibbo'sclass]

If we ever change accountants then you're hired !

You're right, they were very Pulis.

Don't do audits mate.
The consensus around me was"why would you turn up to watch that each week?"
I explained they don't and the ground is normally only 80% full when they play us.
Onwards and upwards.

 

[tommye]

 

[TippEverton]

Ross the boss again for me.

 

[Verbal Kint]

Barry Lukaku and Barkley are the nominations and the winner is.


Barkley.. A joy to watch

 

[Moham-17]

I can't believe McCarthy is hurt again, but at least with Barry we get someone with good vision to play aggressive passes, if not someone who can run for 90 mins

 

[Khalekan]

What I love most about today was that the goals came from a Moyes signing, a Koeman signing and a Martinez signing.

I love continuity and nothing says continuity better than that

 

[Khalekan]

I can't believe McCarthy is hurt again, but at least with Barry we get someone with good vision to play aggressive passes, if not someone who can run for 90 mins

The pass he hit Rom with to set Morgan up for the second was just sublime.

 

[degsy]

WBA offered absolutely nothing today, it was an embarrassment of a display for a point. Didn't have a clue what to do when we went 2 up

Even when we went from first gear to neutral and we where strolling around they showed no ambition.

Easiest 3 points of the season, could have loads more if we wanted

Pullis's substitutions seemed to be change one big grock for another...They seemed to consider it as 40Pts already in the bag, wind down for the hols.

 

[summerisle]

Blues back to winning ways overcoming stubborn Baggies.​

Everton 3 - 0 West Brom
​

Brief summary... First half goals from Kevin Mirallas and Morgan Schneiderlin and a 20th of the season for Romelu Lukaku proved way too much for West Brom to cope with.

Ronald Koeman, keen to get the Blues back to winning ways, rang the changes in dropping Gana Gueye and Funes Mori and selecting a starting eleven of: Robles, Baines, Jagielka , Williams, Coleman, Schneiderlin, Barry, Barkley, McCarthy, Mirallas and Lukaku.

Tony Pulis, also looking for his Albion side to recover from a home loss to Fat Sams' Crystal Palace selected: Foster, Dawson, McCauley, Evans, Nyom, Livermore, Fletcher, Yacob, McClean, Robson-Kanu and Chadli.

The man in the middle with the whistle was Graham Scott.

Prior to the teams taking to the field, Everton paid a very special tribute to the one and only Golden Vision, Alex Young. A video tribute was followed by a guest appearance on the pitch by Derek Temple who spoke affectionately about his friendship on and off the field.

It was the returning Jagielka who created the first chance with a long ball that Evans inexplicably headed to Lukaku, but the Albion defence massed quickly to avert the danger for a corner.

The next Everton attack saw Coleman end up on the left flank and he worked the opening for a cross again turned away for a corner.

A super passing move on the quarter hour involving Schneiderlin, Davies, Barkley and Barry saw Lukaku shoot and beat Foster, but also the far post.

More good work from Barkley, who was seeing a lot of the ball, saw shooting opportunities for Mirallas and Davies with the visitors defence working overtime to block both efforts.

A third Blues corner saw Baines swing in a cross that Lukaku just couldn't get a telling tough on as the Blues continued to have the better of the game, West Brom seemingly happy to time-waste and stifle.

On 36 minutes, Barkley exchanged passes with Mirallas and Schneiderlin, but saw his curling 25-yard effort clear the crossbar.

A rare West Brom foray forward saw Robles dive low to turn a Chadli shot wide, and that proved the spur for the Blues to finally take a deserved lead.

Superb strength and determination from Lukaku worked an opening for Barkley to shoot and when Foster failed to hold it, Kevin Mirallas was on hand to crash home the rebound.

Everton had claims for a penalty turned down after Colemsn went down in the box under a challenge from McClean, but it was merely a delay before the second goal came.

More superb work from Lukaku as he twisted and turned before finding Morgan Schneiderlin for his first goal in a blue shirt.

Half time: 2-0

Funes Mori replaced Baines for the second half and the first meaningful action saw Robles stand firm to parry a Chadli effort as the former Spurs man continued to be the only positive element in a dour Albion side.

The game continued to be predominantly Everton probing to find a way to unlock the smothering midfield and defensive tactics employed by Tony Pulis.

Schneiderlin and Mirallas combined to send Barkley into the box and he twisted and turned before hitting the side netting from a narrow angle.

Gana Gueye replaced Kevin Mirallas on 70 minutes ahead of Lukaku being felled on the edge of the box, but his free kick struck the wall.

West Brom made changes bringing Brunt, Rondon and Morrison on for McClean, Robson-Kanu and Yacob respectively.

Gareth Barry picked up the games first yellow card for pulling back Rondon and the Blues then added a super third on 81 minutes as Ross Barkley chipped a delicious curling cross for Romelu Lukaku to bury his header.

Dominic Calvert-Lewin came on for the final seven minutes, replacing Barry and Dawson drew a yellow for checking the youngster in full flight.

With time ticking down, Everton forged one more chance as a find cross field ball from Barkley picked out Coleman and when he fed Gana Gueye to cut inside and shoot, he was denied by the post.

Full time: 3-0.

Final summary.
As expected, West Brom came to spoil, smother and frustrate and to The credit of Everton, they kept plugging away and got their just desserts. Ross Barkley was a constant threat, probing from midfield with Mirallas adding pace and Davies energy as he was pushed forward.

Picking a man of the match was not easy, but credit to Jags on his return to the side and Williams looked a tad more comfortable alongside the skipper. Romelu Lukaku worked hard to make both the first half goals and his confident header at the end capped a solid if unspectacular display.

At work today so nice to get an overall picture of the match. Reading the match thread is : 10 pages of grumbles about the announcement of the team, 10 pages of this is slow/ooh so close, 5 pages goaaaaal, and so on. So, thanks.

 

[squonk]

Lots of positives today.

Schneids ran the game for me and capped his performance with his first goal for us.

Barkley is boss again and looks a much more confident player under Koeman.

Lukaku now looks much more of a team player than he used to be. He is working harder and setting up chances for others.

After the mistake picking Barry against Spurs his selection today was spot on. When he has time on the ball against an anti-football team like West Brom he can still show his quality.

The future's looking good...

 

[andy4efc]

WBA offered absolutely nothing today, it was an embarrassment of a display for a point. Didn't have a clue what to do when we went 2 up

Even when we went from first gear to neutral and we where strolling around they showed no ambition.

Easiest 3 points of the season, could have loads more if we wanted

Can't say I totally agree really.

They came to frustrate, and they were doing a decent job of it, however the difference between us this season and last is that last season we wouldn't have found a way to get through, this season we aren't as bad at it.

I think the first goal was a bit of a punch to the gut for them and the second coming so quickly drained them of all confidence. They had shown some good glimpses in the first half, I thought Dawson put some wonderful crosses in for them. Strangely though they were getting crosses in without Rondon on the pitch and then when he came on, stopped doing so. McClean is a complete and utter bell but he can cross a ball.

I think they just looked beaten at 2-0, wasn't a case of lack of trying or ambition to get back into the game, we slowed the game down when required and never really got out of third gear.

An unsually well controlled Everton team. Comfortable win, I wouldn't say easy though.

 

[royvernon39]

The future's looking good...

It's looking better for sure.

Upgrades Required; A new left-back, a dominating central defender and someone who is really top class to accompany Rom.

 

[Canuck Darryl]

Schniederlin and Barkley dominated West Brom all match! Schneiderlin MOM for me, though. Box to box; excellent decision making, dictated the pace. Gana was a bit of disappointment. Did a pretty good imitation of captain Phil when he first on. ( Backwards and sideways, backwards and sideways ). Almost redeemed himself, but the post got in the way.

 

[Tony Draper]

As we approach St Pats day, I'd wish to pay tribute to our most very fine Seamus Coleman.

To the tune of "Black Velvet Band"

"A right back named Seamus Coleman,
Was bought for just sixty grand,
A Royal Blue shirt on his shoulders,
He's the best in all of the land".

 

[Bluebonic]

I thought Scneids, Barkley, Rom and Barry were all excellent, i gave it to Scheids (by a whicker) over Ross, simply because he got the goal! Desperately wanted Ross to score today as he so deserved one to cap off his performance!

With refards to WBA, i've met Pulis and he is an absolutely sound lad, talks very well about us and our club, but dear god, imagine having to travel all around the country watching football like that

One negative from yesterday was that Goodison is turning into a library again, so quiet and lacking in atmosphere?