A round-up of how the national media reported on Everton's 2-0 win over Burnley at Hill Dickinson Stadium
After going seven matches and almost three months without a home victory, Everton returned to winning ways at Hill Dickinson Stadium by defeating Burnley 2-0 on Wednesday.
And here’s a round-up of how the national media reported on the action...
Chris Bascombe of the Telegraph reckons there is one thing holding Everton back in their pursuit for Europe as they finally rediscovered some home comforts: "They will not be erecting 'no place like home' signs yet, but Everton’s three-month wait for victory at their new stadium is over. Burnley proved welcome guests as a comfortable win kept European qualification hopes intact.
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"Those Evertonians with glasses half empty will curse how long it has taken to celebrate on their own patch. The more optimistic will analyse the Premier League table and wonder how much better it could have been – and might be next season – with an extra sprinkling of stardust in the squad to suit magnificent surroundings.
"Given recent discomforts, David Moyes must not have known whether to deliver a team talk or an exorcism to bury the ghosts prowling Liverpool’s dockside since December. For those who remember Littlewood Pools, Everton would be considered coupon-busters.
"In their previous 13 games across all competitions and multiple venues, they had not been present for a home win. Infuriatingly, seven of those fixtures have been in their sparkling new ground.
"Contrast that with Everton’s form on the road. Only Arsenal have won more Premier League away fixtures and collected more points on their travels than Everton this season.
"During his sleepless nights, Moyes might have considered some ingenious solutions. Could the Everton players opt to switch to the away dressing room? Take a punt on wearing the second kit? Order the Everton team coach driver to take a detour around a few motorways en route to the stadium? Maybe even request those Evertonians who are so vocal in away grounds take residence in a corner of their own stadium to recreate away conditions?
"Whatever psychological barriers needed to be overcome, not for the first time in a barren home spell the recurring issues were visible for 32 subdued minutes.
"The agonising delay for three points had little to do with the cosmetics and acoustics created by nearly 52,000 in the Hill Dickinson and everything to do with the lack of a quality striker.
"If Moyes leads Everton into a European position with little more than willing runners upfront it will surely register as one of his most satisfying coaching achievements. Beto and Thierno Barry, who keep rotating based on the idea that the striker on the bench tends to seem in the best goalscoring form, work their hardest. Sadly, their application cannot disguise how they are nowhere near Premier League class.
"A mere 32 goals going into Tuesday’s fixtures – the fewest in the top half of the table – tells the story of why Moyes has this team punching above their weight."
In the Guardian, Will Unwin remarked that the win will increase Evertonians’ optimism over European qualification but tempered expectations by claiming they won’t find many other visitors as obliging as Burnley: "Everton harbour ambitions of bringing European football to Hill Dickinson Stadium next season and a first Premier League win at their new home in seven attempts will increase the optimism. The hosts were effective, rather than magnificent, against a woefully poor Burnley but the result is all that matters.
"Chelsea, Liverpool and Manchester City are the next three visitors to Everton, so goals from James Tarkowski and Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall were essential as they looked to build momentum. It was only Everton’s fifth win in 15 league games since leaving Goodison Park, helping solidify their position in eighth, which could be good enough for continental qualification come the end of the season.
"There was zero entertainment in the early exchanges, which mainly consisted of Everton contemplating ways of defeating the Burnley low block, only to realise they lacked any creativity. There were a few corners thrown into the box without success and it was understandable why the atmosphere was completely flat.
"It was highly unlikely that a goal would come from open play. Finally there was a quality delivery from Everton, when James Garner swung a free-kick to the back post for the former Claret Tarkowski to head into the corner for his first goal in over a year, thanks to some inept marking.
"Burnley are shackled by Scott Parker’s ultra-conservative football. Infrequent forays into Everton’s half brought little except losses of possession. Tarkowski had more to do in the opposition box than his own, showing the bluntness of the Championship-bound visitors, who are eight points adrift with nine games to play.
"Dwight McNeil built on his fine performance at Newcastle with another impressive outing. He was at the heart of the positive parts of Everton’s play, providing the energy when there were lulls, and earned the appreciation of the crowd when he was withdrawn.
"The disallowed effort at least showed that Everton had some hidden spark. It was further displayed when Ndiaye slipped a pass through to Dewsbury-Hall, who calmly dinked the ball over Martin Dubravka.
"Burnley overturned a three-goal deficit at the weekend against Brentford, only to lose, but even the most optimistic Lancastrian could not have envisaged a comeback here. Everton had no problems seeing the game out to secure a first triumph here in almost three months. They will not benefit from having such friendly visitors again but they more than got the job done as they try to make the stadium their home."
Nathan Salt of the Daily Mail commented on how at a time when many are questioning the entertainment value of the Premier League, Everton will take substance over style to get the job done: "All anyone seems to want to talk about in the Premier League right now is entertainment. Whether it’s the planned introduction of a Netflix-style streaming service abroad, or the over reliance on set-pieces. ‘Boring’ is the league’s hot new buzzword.
"But, for as much as people clamour for it, style, pizzazz, panache, none of it equals points. For Everton, particularly at home, they’ll take substance over style every time.
"For the best part of an hour this was no different. An attritional game with 11 Burnley players camped behind the ball and mistakes littering Everton’s attempts at breaking down the low block. So when the groans kicked in early, it made sense. They were fair amid a flurry of mistakes and contagious levels of hesitancy in attack. Any possible entertainment had been sucked out of it.
"That’s how it has been here for the most part, with Everton coming in to this winless in their last six home league games (D2, L4). They’ve not gone that long without a home win since October 1998 (9). And, simply put, if they are to push for European football – they are eighth and two points behind Chelsea in sixth after this 2-0 win – that has to change. Turning it on on the road won’t be enough."
In The Times, James Shield claimed that despite their success, Everton are now lacking the star quality brought to them by Jack Grealish: " "For a while Everton struggled to prise apart a Burnley side who have conceded the most goals in the Premier League this term, but they got there in the end, thanks to Iliman Ndiaye’s persistence, James Garner’s excellence at set pieces and goals from James Tarkowski and Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall.
"But even though their manager, David Moyes, knows that results are all important, he will have been concerned by the effort Everton had to expend to squeeze the resistance out of opponents who already have one foot dangling through the relegation trapdoor.
"The problems compared with his counterpart, Scott Parker, though, were small beer. The Burnley head coach was jeered by the travelling supporters after withdrawing Hannibal Mejbri, and had Idrissa Gueye scored with a long-range strike after that tactical switch, their mood would have turned from sceptical to sour.
"As uninspiring as the hosts were during the opening exchanges, Burnley’s offering was so meagre they never threatened to take advantage, ensuring a profitable night for Everton, who remain firmly in the conversation for European qualification having claimed their first win at Hill Dickinson Stadium in nearly three months.
"Everton boast the stadium and the stature to become one of the country’s most successful clubs. What they lack, even with the mercurial Ndiaye in their line-up, is the depth of quality required to consistently challenge the existing status quo.
"As they laboured through the start of this contest, dominating possession but failing to apply serious pressure on a defence that has now been breached 18 times in eight outings, it became evident that Jack Grealish’s injury has not simply robbed them of a player with genuine star quality but also the ego and nous to seize control of games.
"Still, although they lack finesse in open play, Everton’s proficiency at dead-ball situations has been fuelling their pursuit of a top-seven finish. It was no surprise when Tarkowski headed them in front against his former side from a Garner free kick.
"Ndiaye thought he had doubled Everton’s lead soon after the break, only to mistime his run before being released by Gueye. That task fell instead to Dewsbury-Hall who, having earlier threatened to present Burnley’s Lesley Ugochukwu with a clear run into the area after mistiming a pass, swept the ball beyond Dubravka on the hour mark after some excellent approach play."
And the ECHO’s own Joe Thomas pointed out what happened in the South Stand on a night when everything changed for Everton: "As the buzz from the celebrations started to fade, a chorus of Spirit of the Blues started in a corner of the South Stand. It took hold among the thousands of supporters in the acclaimed ‘Blue Wall’ and what had started as a murmur quickly grew into a roar that took hold around the pitch.
Fifty-thousand Everton supporters were suddenly starting to remember just what it felt like to win at home.
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It had been a long three months since the joy of the victory over Nottingham Forest had sent the Blues into December riding a wave of momentum. That match was a fourth win in five and, in truth, it has taken until now for the side to truly recover from the injuries, suspensions and international commitments that wreaked havoc through Christmas and new year.
While the home form collapsed - 660 minutes of disappointment and frustration with the extra-time against Sunderland - the away form kept Everton afloat. And now the curse has been broken at home the Blues enter spring poised for a genuine tilt at Europe.