Moyes was frustrated that Everton went in behind at half-time after a strong first-half performance in which better finishing could have seen the game play out differently
Moyes was frustrated that Everton went in behind at half-time after a strong first-half performance in which better finishing could have seen the game play out differently(Image: Peter Tarry, PA)
View 4 Images
On Saturday, in the smallest ground in the Premier League, one of the more dramatic affairs of this young season played out in front of just 11,135 supporters of Bournemouth and Everton.
An end-to-end game, Everton's 1-1 draw on the south coast was nevertheless overshadowed by events off the pitch: namely Nottingham Forest's now-rejected £40m bid for Harrison Armstrong, Everton's most promising recent academy product whose performance against Crystal Palace left supporters salivating at the prospect of watching his continued development.
The 19-year-old from West Derby was understandably more subdued in this game, but played his part in a thrilling contest where, despite James Tarkowski's injury-time equaliser giving the result the complexion of a smash-and-grab, Everton could rightly feel aggrieved having largely had the better openings to emerge with all three points.
David Moyes admitted it "was never going to be easy" to roll over one of last season's more impressive sides in their own backyard, with midfield injuries playing their part in a second half that left the manager "disappointed" - despite it bringing the goal that evaded the Blues in a more encouraging first half.
LIVE EVERTON TRANSFER DEADLINE DAY UPDATES RIGHT HERE
But that Everton did escape the Vitality Stadium with something to show for their efforts can be attributed to an intelligent substitution from the Scot, and the endeavour of the players on the pitch in executing a tactical plan that forced the Cherries to play Everton's game and stunted one of the most unpredictable forward lines in the league.
Scott goal spoils promising start
In the opening exchanges of this game, both sides started as they meant to go on. Bournemouth took control of possession - managing 72% in the first 15 minutes - but, in spite of their domination of the ball, the Cherries were unable to stifle Everton's threat in transition.
Once again, the left-hand side of the Blues' attack was influential, accounting for 43.2% of their attacks over the course of the game. Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall continued his strong start to the season, often drifting over to that side, and Tyrique George tormented the 35-year-old Bournemouth right-back Adam Smith throughout the first half.
George won three of the four ground duels he contested, once again using his pace to consistently reach the ball first and threaten when cutting in from the left flank.
It was his shot in the 20th minute that Djordje Petrovic fumbled before Thierno Barry failed to beat the keeper on the rebound. The initial shot from George was on the weak side, but the positivity the 20-year-old showed to take on the shot from outside the box led to a golden opportunity for the in-form Barry.
Barry was deeply unfortunate not to score in this game, having been presented with chances worth 1.48 xG (expected goals) from just three shots, but his movement was excellent and racking up such numbers should lead to greater returns in future matches.
Though the link-up between Everton's attackers was not quite as impressive as in the 2-0 victory over Palace, the key components ticked along nicely.
Along with Barry's movement, Dewsbury-Hall created four chances (double the next closest tally for either side), made the most line-breaking passes for Everton (10) and completed two crosses, the Blues' best on the day.
Only Iliman Ndiaye - now sadly set for a move to Manchester City - could match Dewsbury-Hall's four dribbles (one successful). The Senegalese was at his usual combative best, contesting nine duels and winning four, qualities that will be difficult to replace.
Opta first-half action areas graphic: despite seeing less of the ball, far more of the first-half action took place in Bournemouth's defensive third with Everton testing Petrovic several times
Opta first-half action areas graphic: despite seeing less of the ball, far more of the first-half action took place in Bournemouth's defensive third with Everton testing Petrovic several times(Image: Opta)
View 4 Images
Across the first 45, Everton posed the greater threat, with 34.1% of the action concentrated in Bournemouth's defensive third. It was a source of disappointment, then, when Alex Scott opened the scoring for the home side after Tarkowski was given the run-around by Evanilson.
Tarkowski's inability to deal with the danger was a rare lapse in an otherwise dominant performance for Everton's new club captain. The 33-year-old won nine of his 11 duels - the most for the Blues on the day - winning 80% on the ground and 83% in the air, and made a difficult half-volleyed finish to grab the equaliser late on look easy.
Though Everton created the clearer opportunities before the break, a higher-scoring draw could have been a fair result. Bournemouth edged the overall xG with 2.16 to the Blues' 1.84, the scores only being kept down thanks to fine saves from both goalkeepers.
And with both sides playing a high proportion of their passes in the opponent's half (Bournemouth: 53.0%, Everton: 59.7%), this was a match that rarely stayed quiet for long.
Targeting Rohl fails to pay off
Brazilian right winger Rayan is Bournemouth's most dangerous player, and showed it in this game with five shots. Understandably, then, Bournemouth focused 40.1% of their attacks down the right against Man City in the first round of fixtures, and looked to get the January signing from Vasco da Gama on the ball as often as possible in the opening ten minutes of this contest.
Nevertheless, the first half revealed a broader pattern of new Bournemouth manager Marco Rose (overseeing his first home game of the season) looking to target Everton's perceived weaker right side.
By half-time 38.7% of the Cherries' attacks had been channelled down the left - the opposite side to Rayan. In the last 10 minutes of the game, plus added time - for part of which Tim Iroegbunam took over duties from Merlin Rohl - a huge 70.7% of Bournemouth's attacks were directed down that flank.
The decision made sense: Ndiaye's infield running and Rohl's attacking instincts as a natural winger theoretically makes Everton's right side of defence vulnerable to rapid players in wide areas, so left-back Adrien Truffert constantly looked to keep the Blues on the back foot - making an astonishing 38 sprints (Fotmob), double the number of the next closest player on the pitch in Armstrong (19).
Rohl was unruffled, though, and maintained a high position, using his own pace to give Truffert and left midfielder Marcus Tavernier plenty to think about in combination with Ndiaye.
Bournemouth's own left-sided bias may have also been influenced by the tenacity of Vitalii Mykolenko. The Ukrainian stood up to Rayan and produced a fine defence-first performance, making a match-high four blocks and five headed clearances (the second-most behind Jarrad Branthwaite).
Vitalii Mykolenko heatmap (Opta): Mykolenko put in a determined defensive performance, characterised by strong work in his own box as well as defending Rayan on the flank
Vitalii Mykolenko heatmap (Opta): Mykolenko put in a determined defensive performance, characterised by strong work in his own box as well as defending Rayan on the flank(Image: Opta)
View 4 Images
Mykolenko made a strong case for player of the match, especially with his heroics in the 87th minute when blocking another attempt from Rayan, and was unfortunate to see Scott's shot deflect off him into the corner of Jordan Pickford's net for 1-0.
But Rohl's more subtly strong performance - winning all three of his tackles and looking increasingly solid out of position - was equally influential in frustrating Rose's attempts to hit Everton where it hurts.
George sub keeps game on Moyes' terms
When Petrovic saved again from Barry just three minutes after the restart, the Serbian had made his fifth save of the game - the first time he had been forced into that many interventions since Bournemouth last faced Everton back in February.
He would not make another one. Indeed, Everton didn't even attempt another shot until the 84th minute through Beto as the Blues faded alarmingly out of the second half in an attacking sense.
With George and Barry fading, Everton lost their running power in behind. After directing 19.4% of their passes long in the game up until that point, the away side only played 10.2% long between Barry's saved effort in the 49th minute and Beto's miss in the 84th.
Despite the Blues' tiring legs, Bournemouth still struggled to break Moyes' charges down. Having got no joy out of Everton's full-backs in the first half, the Cherries built more patiently through the middle after the break and managed eight shots - but only two forced a response from Pickford, with four of those efforts blocked.
Moyes' decision to switch Ndiaye to the left was somewhat forced by George's waning influence, but it played into Everton's hands. Ndiaye's willingness to get his hands dirty and help out defensively meant he could assist Mykolenko with shutting down Bournemouth's biggest threat in Rayan.
In theory, putting Everton's most threatening dribbler directly up against the ageing Smith and giving Truffert something new to think about with Brennan Johnson's blistering pace could have been the route to an equaliser.
While that didn't exactly go to plan, it did give Moyes the defensive solidity to keep the game on his own terms and keep Everton within touching distance for long enough to strike the decisive blow and leave with a share of the points.
In the end, Ndiaye did prove influential on the left in winning the corner for Tarkowski's equaliser, even if his pass - sloppily cleared by James Hill - was misdirected.
Everton the better team on balance?
Moyes' substitutions weren't entirely within his control, but they paid off and his continued faith in Rohl paid dividends in this match - even if he likely no longer remains Everton's first-choice in the right-back position beyond the end of the transfer window.
Though surviving a tough away assignment was the main priority, especially accounting for the long period of Bournemouth domination in the second half, there is a strong case to be made that Everton were the better team on Saturday - even if a draw was also a fair result.
Opta momentum graphic: though Bournemouth were the more threatening side for most of the second half, Everton were able to threaten - especially in an open first half
Opta momentum graphic: though Bournemouth were the more threatening side for most of the second half, Everton were able to threaten - especially in an open first half(Image: Opta)
View 4 Images
The Blues enjoyed the higher xG from open play (1.59 to Bournemouth's 1.17), and came out on top in many of the game's key moments. While none of Everton's 13 shots were blocked, seven of Bournemouth's 17 were; though last-ditch defending is never ideal, Moyes' side - especially Mykolenko - never switched off and earned the result through effort as much as quality.
None of their 13 shots being blocked points to more clear-cut chances, but also reflects an increasing tendency to shoot from range. Nearly half (6) of the Blues' shots were taken from outside the box.
This is a trait that comes naturally to a player like Dewsbury-Hall, but is something George has developed and on the evidence of this performance, it will prove useful in sowing the seeds of uncertainty in defences Everton come up against.
Though the increasingly stats-focused sensibilities of modern football may discourage long shots, having players in your side with ranged efforts in their locker can cause defenders to think twice about dropping off and open up more space in behind, as Aston Villa proved last season with players like John McGinn, Morgan Rogers and Youri Tielemans.
And amid the uncertainty bubbling around this Everton season - how the team adapts after Ndiaye's impending exit, the identity of the player at right-back, and how Johnson's attributes can best be utilised - the Blues' left flank could just be their secret weapon.
The question of how Jack Grealish can fit into this once again, with the 30-year-old now set to join on another loan deal, is a pleasant conundrum for Moyes to deal with.
If George continues his strong form ahead of Mykolenko, Grealish might find the shirt harder to win back than he was expecting.
*All statistics used are from Opta unless otherwise stated.