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James Tarkowski celebrates. (Getty Images) | AFP via Getty Images
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Coming home usually harkens to a return to love and the comfort of your own place in the world. For Everton, it has been a struggle which has created lots of discussion about how to change the current predicament. Without a win since the Forest win in early December, David Moyes needed to have a plan like he had for the big win at Newcastle.
As Moyes said in his programme notes:
Team News
David Moyes named an unchanged side, which was probably the hope for many Evertonian‘s.. His recent reflections on the need to put out a more attacking team at home was replaced by the pragmatic belief that you never change a winning side.
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Scott Parker made 4 changes with Kyle Walker, Florentino Luis, Lesley Ugochukwu, and Lyle Foster starting in place of Jacob Bruun Larsen, Joshua Jacob Laurent, James Ward-Prowse and Zian Flemming.
Match Report
The light show and the air raid siren preceded the introduction of the teams as Z Cars echoed around Hill Dickinson Stadium. A start straight out of rubby league saw James Garner lob a ball high into the Burnley end. Everton were on the ball quickly. A loose pass saw Jaden Anthony go on a long run but his shot was well wide.
A lob into Beto led to the first corner for the Blues. Garner delivered it but it was poor. A second corner was short but no better in the end. Everton were building patiently in the early going. Ndiaye was getting on the ball more which had been so important at Newcastle.
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Burnley were working hard to close down the space when Everton were on the ball. A lovely tackle from Garner opened up some space but he decided to pass the ball backward which was not appreciated by the Evertonians in the house. The lack of movement up front was hindering the attack. When the ball moved quickly to Ndiaye, a corner ensued which saw KDH shoot well over the bar.
With 70% of the ball in the first 20 minutes, Everton were dominating which was unusual for this team. When Burnley dithered in the box, Ndiaye looked to be scythed down by Dubravka. Nothing given and no VAR check. After Dubravka was treated for cheating, Ndiaye drove forward but his shot was blocked.
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Burnley had their first spell of possession which took until the 25th minute. That was short lived as Tarkowski drilled a ball forward and forced a corner but Dubravka was ‘fouled’ by Tarkowski with his shoulder. Moments later, Everton built up patiently again and when James Garner delivered a free kick into the Burnley box, it was met by Tarkowski who powered it into the far corner to give the Blues a lead on the 33 minute mark. A first shot on net and a first goal.
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Beto showed some nice feet getting away from three Burnley defenders who fouled the striker. Garner was on the free kick again but this time he made a short pass to KDH who shot over the net. Seconds later, Beto was dispossessed by Worral at the last moment to prevent a second.
O’Brien gave the ball away outside his box but Branthwaite came to his rescue. Beto then had the ball on the edge of the box but he couldn’t decide what to do and eventually lost the ball. That was also true when Ndiaye and Gana played tiki taki in the corner. Another free kick from Garner was delivered into the box which was headed by Branthwaite and the goal was denied by a great Dubravka save.
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The resulting corner fell to McNeil who volleyed a ball goalward, and again, Dubravka was there to prevent a second goal. Ndiaye went down in the box but VAR was not interested. Three minutes of additional time did nothing to change the score but the Blues headed into the change room with the lead.
Everton had won 9 of the 12 games that they had led this year but that was irrelevant to Burnley who came out quickly. Beto defended an early long throw well as Everton seemed to sit back a bit in the early going. An errant ball from KDH nearly put Burnley in for a breakaway but Anthony’s touch was awful.
Dewsbury-Hall delivered a lovely ball into the box but Heath got in front of Beto and his header went over the bar. Beto clashed heads and went off briefly. When Everton quickly broke, Gana waited far too long to pass the ball to Ndiaye so when he hesitated, Ndiaye went offside even though he put the ball int the net. The Evertonians were re-energized. That elation turned to fear when another errant pass needed a quick Pickford response to clear the danger.
Burnley’s first corner of the match was preceded by two changes with Worrall and Florentino coming off for Tchaouna and Ward Prowse. That corner was sent in by Ward Prowse but the header went wide as the Burnley players called for a penalty.
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The lead was doubled when KDH ran onto a lovely ball from Ndiaye and chipped a charging Dubravka. Evertonians were ecstatic as KDH went back to thank Ndiaye for the pass. “Spirit of the Blues” was sung with passion as McNeil made a mazy run but he could not get the ball to KDH as the space disappeared.
Everton were controlling the ball as Burnley tried to get back in the match. Hannibal was withdrawn to a chorus of boos with Laurent coming on. Sadly, the Burnley fans started to chant, “You don’t know what you’re doing.” The third goal was just inches away as Gueye turned inside and curled a shot which came back off the corner of the goal. A free kick just outside the box for Everton was lined up by Garner and KDH. Garner back heeled it to KDH who blasted it goalward but Dubravka was there to deny the Blues.
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Everton were truly bossing it as the final 15 minutes arrived. Ndiaye broke to the line and needed an alert Dubravka to prevent a third. McNeil and Beto could not get on the same page to extend the lead and when Burnley finally had a chance to shoot, the effort from Florentino was wide.
Keane had waited 10 minutes to be substituted for Branthwaite as Moyes brought on Barry for Beto as expected. Ashley Barnes was brought on by Burnley. Moments later, McNeil and Gueye were brought off for Tyrique George and Iroegbunam. The standing ovation for McNeil was lovely.
Six minutes of time was added as Evertonians belted out “If You Know Your History”. Ndiaye was withdrawn for Dibling as the final moments ticked off the clock. For some reason, the referee allowed 8 minutes of extra time and when everyone was done, Pickford made another stunning save to keep the clean sheet. Another stunner from the England number one, this time it was not needed but it was appreciated.
Everton’s Man of the Match
Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall: The midfield won this match with KDH and James Garner leading the way. As the game continued, the influence of KDH grew. Everton are a cautious team with Moyes in charge but you could see Dewsbury-Hall pushing the team forward even when Everton had the second goal. His desire for more is something that needs to be lauded. He had 65 touches, 7 defensive contributions, 7 passes into the final third, and 4 recoveries. An all round performance from a player of top quality.
Instant Reaction
The hoodoo has been broken as Everton record their first home win since early December. Evertonians stuck by the team from the beginning and their support was rewarded. Everton end the day in 8th with only 2 points separating them from Chelsea in 6th. With Arsenal and Chelsea on the horizon, things won’t be easy but some of our best games have been against the teams in the top six. With Liverpool’s pending loss, it is only 5 points to the RS in 5th! Ultimately, it was three points today that ends the winless run at home.
Burnley were awful today, but the performance from Everton was professional and patient. After a slow start, Everton finally turned their tactical advantage into a goal from Tarkowski and then another push in the second half to double the lead. The best part for me was the complete dominance defensively as Burnley were prevented from any real chances. Only two shots on target was a testament to their defensive work but also the Toffees willingness to control the ball for long stretches.
When Iliman Ndiaye was wiped out by Dubravka, the lack of a check from VAR was a travesty. The keeper went through Ndiaye to get the ball and you could see from the replay that the referee was on the opposite side. For VAR to intervene there needs to be a clear and obvious error which was the case.
There has been much chatter this year about the difficulty to transfer your ticket to someone else when you cannot make the match. Today, I kept an eye on the seats throughout the match and I have to say that even though the game was a sellout, I would say that there were several empty seats but not enough for me to notice. Selling tickets is a business need, having fans in the seats is one that benefits the team. Let us hope that the club listens to the fans and makes the transfer of tickets easier, not so that touts/scalpers can benefit, but rather the team has a full house of supporters who love this team like I do.
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