Man Of The Match
Howard produced a solid display. Funes Mori and Jagielka were excellent in the centre. Barry continued his great form but once again for me the man of the match goes to Besic. I don’t think it’s any co-incidence that our run of defensively solid games has come with his run in the side. He showed everything once again and his tenacity and work rate were on show once more. He has also must have been learning lessons from Barry as he took a yellow card for the team to stop a very dangerous attack with Stones injured.
Could Do Better?
Deulofeu seems to have run out of steam, he also doesn’t appear to be very fit and can hardly make 90 minutes. Maybe this is due to playing the majority of our games in the last few months and needs a slight rest. He had his dangerous moments but they were few and far between and his crossing was poor. Maybe Lennon or Mirallas need a run to give him a break. We need him at his excellent best.
Most Improved?
It’s pretty obvious that it’s Tim Howard. It was great to seem look solid and he even claimed a few crosses. He only solution for Everton fans with Martinez’ refusal to play Robles is for Howard to get back to the levels of two years ago. There were signs of it here. A clean sheet was kept to Man City away and Howard very much played his part in that.
Moment Of The Match?
Howard’s inclusion came with the usual moans and groans including from myself and there is no doubt he knows what the fans currently think. His save in the first half from a close range header may have been the confidence booster he needed for the rest of the match, and hopefully the rest of the season.
What It Means?
Confidence. Confidence in Howard, our defence and getting through to the League Cup Final. Getting wins against Tottenham, Man City and Chelsea was always going to be tough but we needed to so fight and defensive resolve to give us confidence for the rest of the season and that’s what we’ve done so far in this run of hard games. Hopefully the same can be shown against Chelsea and we can then fight for wins to the end of the season.
Royal Blue Everton 