Tyler Dibling impressed for Everton (Photo by Jan Kruger/Getty Images)
Tyler Dibling impressed for Everton (Photo by Jan Kruger/Getty Images)
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The victory was important but the winner of the man of the match award felt almost as significant.
With a threadbare forward line relying on young stars stepping up and mercurial talents finding form and consistency, David Moyes really needs Tyler Dibling to emerge as a trustworthy option this season.
Against Wolves, he showed flashes of promise. Finally, there are hints the starlet might be on the cusp of a breakthrough after a miserable first season on Merseyside.
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Dibling got the assist for Carlos Alcaraz’s match-winning goal, the 20-year-old standing up two opponents inside the visitors’ box before poking the ball through to the substitute. Alcaraz did well, turning in the box and curling the ball beyond Joao Virginia to spare his side from the lottery of a penalty shootout.
But Dibling will get the headlines. His best moment was the assist he should have got. With Everton pushing for the opening goal they deserved but had not found in the first hour, Dibling read the distant run of Brennan Johnson and slid an inch-perfect ball behind the Wolves backline. Johnson latched onto the pass and hit the target but was denied by Virginia, excellent on his return to the club he spent six years at.
In a phase of play that would have delighted Moyes, Dibling did not stop to admire his pass. Instead, he was one of the first to react as Wolves countered. It was the England Under-21s international who raced back and challenged Tawanda Chirewa, dispossessing the winger on the edge of the box. The crowd loved that tackle, as did Jake O'Brien, who championed Dibling as he picked himself off the turf.
There were other good signs from Dibling, who nutmegged Chirewa in a first half in which he almost created the opening goal by beating his man, reaching the byline and crossing into a melee of players.
The first sign that Dibling could take genuine heart from this display came in the 77th minute, when Moyes made attacking changes but chose to leave Dibling on. The second came 90 seconds after the final whistle, when it was announced he had swept almost 60% of the vote to win player of the match. That announcement was met by a roar.
Everyone is desperate for the £35m signing to make his mark at Everton. He is still awaiting the landmark, chest-bursting moment of jubilation that teammates like Tyrique George and Ainsley Maitland-Niles had against Manchester United. But this was a big step forward.
It was a big step forward to Everton, too, who lost to Wolves at this stage of last season’s Carabao Cup. They are no longer a top flight side but they had the players and experience to make this night tricky. Everton were made to work and had Jordan Pickford to thank when he turned away Adam Armstrong’s effort after the forward was played in on goal, albeit at an angle, midway through the second half. But, save for a few crosses well dealt with by O’Brien and Michael Keane, the only other time Pickford was troubled was when he spilled Tommy Doyle’s late volley.
At the other end, Virginia was busy. The 26-year-old left the Blues before he could make it to Hill Dickinson but was excellent on his return to the club. He produced a stunning reflex save from Thierno Barry’s header at the back post on the cusp of the break and did well to get to the striker’s feet when Barry was played in by a delicate Hayden Hackney pass.
He also saved well from Jack Grealish, on his first start since his own return to Everton, in the first half and from James Garner in the second.
The margin of victory was slim and the goal came late, with Alcaraz striking with just 10 minutes to go. But this was a satisfactory night for Everton and Moyes to continue a very good, unbeaten start to the season. That Dibling shone so brightly was an added, valuable boost.
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