Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall produced an impressive performance for Everton in their 2-0 win over Fulham at Hill Dickinson Stadium
Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall declared that: “I feed off that energy” after being given a rousing reception ahead of his Everton debut and after what has been a tough spell for the player and team alike, he produced one of his most eye-catching displays to date in the 2-0 win over Fulham.
Snapped up from Chelsea for an initial £25million just after the Blues returned from the USA having participated in the Premier League Summer Series, the midfielder made his bow just three days later in Everton’s inaugural first team game in front of fans at Hill Dickinson Stadium. Although David Moyes’ men lost their final pre-season friendly 1-0 to Roma, the new boy – who was match-fit having helped his previous employers to victory in the FIFA Club World Cup the previous month – produced an impressive performance.
Dewsbury-Hall said: “It all started from the reception that me and the team got. It was pretty overwhelming to be honest. It was a special moment for me. From that second, I was like: ‘Yes, I need to try show something for the fans and do what I can,’ and credit to them, it was an enjoyable moment. I feed off that energy.”
Since then, the Nottingham-born star scored his first Everton goal in the 3-2 win at Wolverhampton Wanderers on August 30 but having picked up five yellow cards in five consecutive Premier League appearances – with Moyes revealing the PGMOL had apologised to the club saying the latter two should not have been given – he then had to serve a one-match suspension. Since returning to the side, the 27-year-old had not tasted victory until the visit of the Cottagers but the Blues most recent outing marked a welcome return to form.
Other than providing an assist for Michael Keane’s goal with his cross from a corner-kick, just what made Dewsbury-Hall’s display against Fulham so special? An examination of his contributions using Comparisonator’s Parameters League, measuring his statistics against Premier League peers sheds valuable light.
First off, he put in a real shift for the cause, something that Evertonians really appreciate. Dewsbury-Hall had a high intensity count of 76 for runs of over 20km/h, which was the joint best in the division that weekend from players in his position, alongside Bryan Mbeumo of Manchester United with the only two others topping the 70 mark being Mbeumo’s team-mate Amad Diallo (73) and Liverpool’s Dominik Szoboszlai (71).
For context, Dewsbury-Hall ranks seventh for this category in the Premier League all season with an average score of 68.11. He was also in joint first place for the most interceptions made (five) alongside Xavi Simons of Tottenham Hotspur, a figure which is more than double his average for the season (2.44) which places him eighth overall.
The Leicester City academy graduate’s efforts weren’t just off the ball though. Not only did he make the most passes (44) of anyone in his position, one more than Szoboszlai, which was a considerable increase on his average of 32.33 for the season which puts him eighth, he also had the most successful passes (38), some four more than closest challenger Szoboszlai, and another significant upturn on his average of 27.22 which again ranks him at eighth.
Everton's Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall's figures for successful passes last weekend compared to other Premier League players in his postion
Everton's Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall's figures for successful passes last weekend compared to other Premier League players in his postion
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This work was also done in attacking areas as Dewsbury-Hall led the way for passes in the opposition half (30) to top Chelsea’s Joao Pedro (28) and his own average for the season of 23.78 which ranks him sixth, plus successful passes in the opposition half (27) with Pedro (23) again his closest challenger in a section where he averages 20.44 to come sixth. Over the campaign as a whole, the Everton man is down in 11th for duels won with an average of 6.56 but again he was joint top of the class on 10 alongside Amad.
*Comparisonator is a football data comparison tool from 271 professional leagues around the world which compares players and clubs by utilising over 100 different parameters. Click here for more details.