Everton won their third Premier League away game of the season on Tuesday as they downed Bournemouth 1-0 at the Vitality Stadium.
Jack Grealish’s late strike saw three points on the board for David Moyes’ side, with Everton now having won three of their last four games in the top-flight to shoot right up the Premier League table.
It was a makeshift Everton defence that saw the win over the line, with Jake O’Brien starring at centre-back and James Garner being forced into right-back, seeing other players come up trumps at the top of the pitch.
And Bournemouth midfielder Alex Scott has praised Everton for their gutsy display on the south coast, admitting the Toffees were incredibly tough to beat.
Bournemouth v Everton - Premier League
Photo by Dan Istitene/Getty Images
Alex Scott admits Everton made it hard for Bournemouth to garner any chances on Tuesday with height and winning second balls
Speaking after Bournemouth were beaten for the first time at home this season, Alex Scott admitted that the Toffees were impressive against the Cherries and made it hard for them to create much.
The England international said: “We knew [Jordan] Pickford’s kick is massive and we know they do that every time, so it was going to be scrappy no matter what.
“They made it tough for us to do that in the first half. Second half, again, normally we come out here, West Ham was the same. We come out and we’re firing in the second half and I don’t know, maybe give credit to them.
THAT is exactly how you respond after the Newcastle defeat! 💪
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“They were good, I thought, especially in the second half, fighting. And they won a lot of the second balls and made it hard for us to get any real chances.
“They’ve got big defenders to make it hard. If you cross the ball loads, nine times out of 10, they’re going to win it. So you’ve got to find different solutions and we didn’t do that today.
“Like I said, five shots, two on target at home, it’s shocking really and something we’ve got to put right on Saturday against another top team.”
With the likes of Antoine Semenyo and Eli Junior Kroupi having excelled so far in the campaign, it’s no surprise that Scott is annoyed that Everton shut them out.
Everton now have a real chance to end the week in the Premier League’s European spots
Everton face off against former boss Sean Dyche on Saturday, with Nottingham Forest travelling to the Hill Dickinson Stadium.
Should the Toffees beat the East Midlands outfit, it will put them on 24 points – level with Chelsea and Aston Villa.
Wow, who knew Everton’s away record was so good!?👏🏻
“Since I have come back, only Arsenal have won more games than us (away). They (the fans) have been pretty happy.”
David Moyes after Bournemouth win
David Moyes.
Photo by James Gill – Danehouse/Getty Images
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Of course, there are plenty of other teams who are set to play their fixtures over the course of the week, all of whom could overtake the Toffees and push them into the bottom half by the end of Wednesday evening.
However, should results go their way, the Toffees could end the week as high as fifth in the Premier League table. That should be enough incentive for David Moyes to put the Tricky Trees to the sword ahead of the Christmas period and see Everton really kick on for a top-half place at the minimum come the end of the season.
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