The verdict from Hill Dickinson Stadium as young midfielder Harrison Armstrong turned in a superb display in Everton's 2-0 win over Crystal Palace
Harrison Armstrong of Everton is challenged by Daichi Kamada of Crystal Palace (Photo by Lewis Storey/Getty Images)
Harrison Armstrong of Everton is challenged by Daichi Kamada of Crystal Palace (Photo by Lewis Storey/Getty Images)
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There was a moment in the second half when the ball came into Harrison Armstrong and, under pressure, he dropped his shoulder to evade Daichi Kamada. Suddenly, the pitch opened up to the teenager and Everton were on the attack.
In the first half, Kamada wriggled into space and looked to send Crystal Palace on a similar counter, only for Armstrong to emerge from behind him, lean into him and force the Japan international to turn towards his own goal and, eventually, to seek safety with a pass back to Dean Henderson.
The first goal, the key moment in this season-opening Everton win that, for the first half, could have gone either way, came from the midfielder stealing the ball from Daniel Munoz and sliding it to Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall, who produced a lethal finish. As the rest of the stadium appealed for a penalty, Armstrong had remained attentive enough to seize the occasion.
Those highlights were among the glimpses of the teenager's prodigious talent on an afternoon when his team needed him. With Christian Norgaard injured, James Garner only fit enough for the bench and Hayden Hackney having never played a minute in the Premier League, supporters could have been forgiven for wondering where the experience would come from on Saturday afternoon. It was provided by their youngest player.
Armstrong will come under pressure for his place in the coming weeks but that he lasted the full match said a lot. David Moyes had the luxury of being able to share minutes around the squad after Thierno Barry doubled the lead just after the break. His belief in Armstrong’s value continued through that.
This was a satisfying win at the end of a tough week at Everton. A summer of silence from Finch Farm and the club’s hierarchy broke in the form of mixed messages from Moyes and chief executive Angus Kinnear. A new right back, sorely needed, is still yet to arrive.
There remains work to be done in the final 10 days of the transfer window but this was a victory that was built on the promising parts of pre-season. Jarrad Branthwaite went down on several occasions but survived the full match and Everton, unsurprisingly, benefitted.
Tyrique George was given a rapturous applause after a display of real promise - the winger causing potential Everton target Munoz no shortage of problems. And there will be great satisfaction that Barry, another player who had a good summer and upon whom’s search for ruthlessness so much of Everton’s hopes rest, opened his account immediately by heading in a menacing Iliman Ndiaye cross early in the second half. That goal allowed Everton to seize control of this match and see it out in relative comfort.
It so easily could have been a different story, had it not been for the brilliance of two of the club’s more senior figures - Jordan Pickford and Dewsbury-Hall.
There were times in the first half hour when Adam Wharton and Kamada opened up the Blues defence, starting in the first five minutes when Eddie Nketiah’s cross was flicked over at the near-post by Jean-Philippe Mateta. That was the first of several let-offs.
Pickford was required to save from Munoz at the back post and then produced an extraordinary stop to deny Nketiah. Picked out over the top by Kamada, Nketiah took a touch and sought to place the ball past Pickford only for the goalkeeper to somehow push the effort onto the post.
The same post then came to Everton’s rescue when another Nketiah cross was met by Mateta, who should have done better.
While the home side revelled in let-offs, they too posed a threat. George, who started just once while on loan in the second half of last season, carried his momentum from the summer into this match and posed Munoz problems throughout. It was George who started the move that ended with Everton’s best chance of the early exchanges, one that saw Merlin Rohl pull the ball back to Ndiaye, only for the Senegal international to shoot too close to Henderson.
The offside flag spared Palace when Branthwaite was brought down in the area by Jaydee Canvot, and again after George fired narrowly wide. Then, in the final minutes of the half, Dewsbury-Hall sparked into life.
First, he wriggled through challenges to slide Barry into a promising position in the box, only for the forward to lose control of the ball. He rode another tackle to have a shot blocked by what looked like the arm of Chadi Riad but as 50,000 Blues called for a penalty Armstrong stole the ball from Munoz and fed Dewsbury-Hall, whose venomous finish swerved violently to beat Henderson from a tight angle.
It was fitting that this game turned on a moment when Everton’s youngest and oldest midfielders combined to such effect. Everton controlled the game from that point to claim an important and deserved three points.
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