TACTICAL ANALYSIS: Thierno Barry's solitary goal proved decisive as the Toffees made it two on the bounce against the Magpies
Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall was influential in Everton's midfield and created more chances than any other player on the pitch
Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall was influential in Everton's midfield and created more chances than any other player on the pitch(Image: Tony McArdle/Everton FC via Getty Images)
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Jordan Pickford is dynamite. So the travelling contingent of Everton supporters sang from up in the gods in the Leazes End long after the final whistle on Mondat, and so it appeared when he produced an explosive save in the 90th minute to deny Yoane Wissa on the turn and preserve all three points for the Blues.
The save, a smart stop with his feet after already committing to a dive in the opposite direction, was made all the more impressive given the England goalkeeper had had so little to do for the rest of the match up until that point.
After succumbing to a 3-1 defeat at Hill Dickinson Stadium three days prior, Wissa's less-threatening 85th-minute attempt was the first shot on target Newcastle United managed when the two teams met again in the Premier League, as the Magpies continue to look an awkward outfit under new manager Matthias Jaissle.
For opposite number David Moyes, though, there was little to complain about as Everton put in a battling performance, limiting Newcastle's threat and causing plenty of their own problems down the other end en route to a victory that should really have been by a wider margin.
Moyes made big calls in reverting back to his tried and tested options of Merlin Rohl on the right and Harrison Armstrong in the centre of midfield, after Tyler Dibling and Hayden Hackney (especially the latter) impressed in the Carabao Cup clash between the two teams on Thursday.
Safe to say, both lineups resulted in satisfying victories. During the first half on Monday in particular, Everton made it look easy against Newcastle - are the pieces of this team beginning to click into place?
First-half dominance
Newcastle boss Jaissle cut a frustrated figure after the match. Speaking in his post-match press conference, he suggested his players hadn't followed his instructions.
Jaissle said: "We played with a double six today who should hold our centre-backs and also to break the first line. Like with many occasions, where we were in Everton, we couldn't bring them in the game.
"We were not brave enough, not courageous enough to break that line to play on the ground as well. We need to, of course, analyse that now in detail. It's also clear that I have the responsibility and I also take that as a manager of this club.
"We need to do things better like I just mentioned, there were many, many things not only in possession, which were not on the level we expected to see, also out of possession.
"We wanted to press them high, we want to stretch them as soon as possible. Then there was also clear distinction if that was overplayed from the opposition team that we defended in a compact block, but nothing between.
"So, again, it was not seen much today on the pitch."
The Magpies are third-bottom in the league for average number of possessions won in the final third per match despite appointing a manager in Jaissle who was previously renowned for implementing high presses at Red Bull Salzburg and Al Ahli.
Here, they set up to press in a familiar 4-2-4 shape off the ball, Joe Willock pushing up into the first line to essentially have a man on each of Everton's back four. Jaissle backed his players to win their duels, no doubt hoping an aggressive start would gather some momentum with home advantage behind them, but they did not deliver.
Right from kick-off, after Newcastle had initially dealt with Pickford's long ball played deep into their half, that press was exposed. One short bout of head tennis later and the Blueswere already causing problems through a simple one-two between Rohl and Jake O'Brien, Harvey Barnes taking out the latter in a sign of what was to come.
Over the course of a first half in which Everton took twice as many shots (10) as their opponents and accumulated 1.13 xG to 0.24, the Magpies were easy to play through - falling short in their pressing and failing to stay compact when that press broke down.
The Blues, by contrast, won their battles consummately. 64% of the first half duels went Everton's way, including a resounding 75% of the aerial duels, with Newcastle struggling to make anything stick even when they abandoned their attempts to play out from the back and went long instead - which they did with 19.6% of their passes in the first half, well above their average of 12.3% this season.
Jarrad Branthwaite, especially, was a colossus. The No.4 won an astonishing 11 of 14 aerial duels over the course of the game, nodding away anything the Toon threw his way and playing a huge role in ensuring that striker William Osula only saw seven touches of the ball in the first half.
At the other end, Everton's attackers refused to give Newcastle's back line time on the ball, making things uncomfortable enough for mistakes to be forced and competing well when it came to individual battles.
Rohl and Tyrique George were their usual tenacious selves off the ball. It was George's harrying that had led to James Garner's goal in the previous fixture, and here he won five of his eight duels - coming out the better once again in the second part of his two-game battle with Magpies right-back Amar Dedic.
Rohl was similarly competitive and won four of his eight duels, while both players also had the beating of their opponent on the ball. Each Blues winger attempted more dribbles than any other players on the pitch, George just pipping Rohl with three successful dribbles from four attempted to the German's two from three.
The same can be said for the other two members of Everton's ostensible front four: Thierno Barry and Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall. Barry won two of his four aerial duels, largely up against Fabian Schar and the giant Dan Burn, while Dewsbury-Hall won a very impressive seven of his 10 duels as he played an influential role knitting moves together.
Kiernan Dewbsury-Hall completed more passes ending in the final third than any other player on the pitch, creating three chances and maintaining an impressive 96% passing accuracy
Kiernan Dewbsury-Hall completed more passes ending in the final third than any other player on the pitch, creating three chances and maintaining an impressive 96% passing accuracy (Image: Opta)
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In fact, Dewsbury-Hall was so involved that he finished the game with more touches (77) than any other Blues player, the whole team working to get him on the ball whenever the Blues went forward.
Dewsbury-Hall created the most chances (three) of any player on the pitch and his long-distance strike forced Lukas Hornicek into a good save just after the hour mark, during what proved to be Everton's last real bit of pressure on the Newcastle goal before rearguard action ultimately saw out the three points.
Indeed, it wasn't all free-flowing. As usual, the Blues needed to keep their focus at times and did so impressively, only having to rely on luck once in the middle of the second half - when Rohl allowed Barnes to check back onto his right foot and send a bending ball towards the back post, cleared off the line by a combined effort of Pickford and James Tarkowski.
Pickford's long balls once again were a facet of Moyes' pragmatism. In this game, the former Sunderland goalkeeper - a fact the St James' Park faithful never ceased to remind him of - attempted 28 long balls, the most he has attempted in a single game so far this season.
Newcastle's press was ineffective, but because they kept coming, space was constantly open behind. Pickford, though, consistently looked to bypass it completely by sending the ball long, banking on the players in blue winning the first or second ball most of the time.
By and large, they did. This wasn't a tight, tense, tactical battle. This was a game where Everton got the basics right and the Magpies didn't, over and over again. The Blues could easily have already been ahead before Armstrong passed up a golden chance to make it 0-1 on the cusp of half time - but they wouldn't have long to wait.
Barry's goal just three minutes after the break was about the easiest tap-in he'll ever score, but - as usual - it took quick thinking and good striker's instincts to be there in the right place to take advantage of the one real mistake Hornicek made all game.
New right side... same as the old right side?
With O'Brien back in at right-back and Rohl moving up to the right of midfield ahead of him, Moyes went with a right-sided combination we last saw away at Tottenham on the final day of last season.
Finishing the season with seven games without a win didn't exactly leave supporters itching to see more of this combination. Ainsley Maitland-Niles was signed to solve that problem at right-back but, with the No.2 out of favour for now, O'Brien and Rohl demonstrated why there is sense to starting the pair as a duo.
For starters, O'Brien provides an extra physical presence, which is useful when Everton are pressing their opponents and seeing a lot of long balls come their way, which was the case here.
The Irishman won four of his six aerial duels, only Branthwaite competing in more for the Blues, but he also provided a decent level of wide attacking threat, attempting five crosses - only Dewsbury-Hall, on corner duty, attempted more (seven).
As a unit, the two combined well, Rohl donning his central midfield hat at times to step inside and send O'Brien on the overlap or combine with Armstrong. As with Garner, George and Vitalii Mykolenko on the left, Armstrong, Rohl and O'Brien combined in triangles on the right to work attacks down the wing.
In the first half, Rohl played a clever ball to Armstrong, who had reached the byline. The 19-year-old might have cut it back across the six-yard box first time, but instead checked back to O'Brien, who put in a cross that eventually led to a scuffed volley from Garner.
It wasn't perfect, but there were certainly signs of improvement in how Everton's right operated as a unit. Given how much of their better moments on the ball this season have come from the opposite side, it was extremely encouraging to see the Blues threaten from both sides in this game.
Everton used the right flank when attacking 36.2% of the time, showing greater threat from that side after several games where almost all attacks came from the left
Everton used the right flank when attacking 36.2% of the time, showing greater threat from that side after several games where almost all attacks came from the left(Image: Opta)
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O'Brien's performances deserve more regular minutes, and the right-back berth might still be the best place for those to come.
Something to build on
These two games against Newcastle haven't exactly given Everton their biggest test of the season, but in winning back-to-back games against an opponent under pressure, they have shown they have the wherewithal to get the basics right consistently and start enjoying their football again.
With only Arsenal and Brighton having kept more clean sheets than the Blues' four, it's hardly been a bad start to the season, but three games without a win after a long international break had started to bring the mood down as the nights start getting colder.
With two wins now under the belt since the clocks turned back, though, Everton have an opportunity to go into the next international break on a high if they can see off newly-promoted Coventry City on Friday night at Hill Dickinson Stadium.
Good vibes can count for a lot in football. With Jack Grealish still absent, the Blues have come together to produce back-to-back wins despite the headlines surrounding their most high-profile player.
Keeping that going against Coventry is crucial - but on this evidence, there's every reason for supporters to be hopeful of a very enjoyable Friday night.
*All statistics used are from Opta unless otherwise stated.
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