Jack Grealish’s 78th-minute goal saw off stuttering Bournemouth.
David Moyes watched his Everton side win for the third time in four games (Andrew Matthews/PA)
David Moyes watched his Everton side win for the third time in four games (Andrew Matthews/PA) (PA Wire)
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Everton manager David Moyes believes the Toffees’ hard-fought 1-0 win at Bournemouth proved Saturday’s 4-1 humbling at home to Newcastle was just a blip.
England international Jack Grealish’s 78th-minute goal was enough to earn Everton their third win in four Premier League games.
Moyes said: “I thought we were probably the better team, but I was a bit concerned.
“We’ve not got a great record here at Bournemouth so getting three points here was always going to be really important and good if we could get it.
“I thought whoever got the first goal would win and thankfully it got us a victory.
“That is three wins out of four and we’ve kept three clean sheets as well out of the four.
“Yes, we didn’t play well against Newcastle but we’ve just got a win at Old Trafford and come here today and got another three points on the road.”
Moyes also picked out makeshift right-back James Garner for special praise.
“James Garner was terrific up against Antoine Semenyo, who arguably can be as good as there is in the wide areas,” the Everton boss added.
“I thought Jimmy handled him really well, didn’t think too much about it and went about his job really well.
“He’s in top form, he really is, and I don’t have a problem with if I put him in the middle of the pitch or if I put him at right-back. He goes about the job the best he can, so lots of credit to him.”
In a first half of few chances Everton goalkeeper Jordan Pickford made a smart save to deny the sought-after Semenyo and Bournemouth’s Alex Scott headed against his own crossbar from a Garner corner.
Thierno Barry missed a glorious chance to fire Everton ahead before Grealish turned match-winner with a deflected 20-yard strike 12 minutes from time.
The defeat extended Bournemouth’s winless run to five games and home boss Andoni Iraola admitted he was concerned by their performance.
Iraola said: “I think we were really poor, probably the worst game we played this season.
“We played the game like Everton wanted to play, at a low tempo and with no real chances.
“If you don’t make them defend properly then they have very good players that can keep the ball.
“I am concerned especially with today’s game because against Sunderland and West Ham even though we only took one point, we played well.
“We had a lot of chances in those games and scored goals.
“It is concerning in the sense that now we have Chelsea and Manchester United so we don’t have any schedule and we are in a difficult moment.”