Harrison Armstrong warms up for Everton. Next to him is a smaller picture of David Moyes.
Harrison Armstrong warms up for Everton. Next to him is a smaller picture of David Moyes.
Lee Hendrie couldn't believe what he was seeing in the first half of Everton's 3-1 win over Coventry at Hill Dickinson Stadium on Friday night.
In the 13th minute, Harrison Armstrong had a golden opportunity to score his first Everton goal after Coventry's defence failed to deal with a loose ball.
Stephen Mfuni allowed the ball to bounce in the box, which should have opened up the door for Thierno Barry to score, but he didn't anticipate the ball's movement enough to do anything useful with it.
It then bounced over to Armstrong, but midfielder Victor Torp and goalkeeper Carl Rushworth managed to block his first touch, before Torp eventually seemed to stop Armstrong from heading into an empty net.
The ball then made it's way back to Barry but a foul was eventually given in Coventry's favour, stopping the attack from progressing any further, seemingly for a Barry foul on Rushworth.
Sky Sports pundit Hendrie was stunned by Everton's failure to score.
What Lee Hendrie said about Harrison Armstrong's missed opportunity
Armstrong was making his 33rd Everton appearance on Friday night, but the young midfielder is yet to get on the scoresheet for the Toffees.
Unfortunately, down to a mixture of bad luck and good defending by Torp, he was denied of breaking his duck in the opening stages against Coventry.
Speaking on Sky Sports Premier League after the goal-mouth scramble finished, Hendrie said: "That is unbelievable. Unbelievable.
"It's just not dealt with [by Coventry]. It's bouncing around.
"I mean, have a look at this. It's ricocheting off every single player and you think Harrison Armstrong is just going to head it home, but Victor Torp does enough.
"Then, Rushworth is all over the place.
"If you have a look at another angle, you're just thinking, 'that's 1-0'.
"He just can't get the head on it, can he?
"It's really, really good defending in the end from Torp, who does just enough to make sure it's going nowhere near the goal.
"Armstrong must have thought he'd got it. It was just an empty net to head into."
Should Armstrong have done better?
Ultimately, Armstrong isn't someone you would expect to be getting on the scoresheet every week; it's simply not something in his skillset.
However, if he wants to continue his development into the midfielder that all Evertonians think he can be, he does need to start adding some goals to his game at some point.
He was unfortunate against Coventry.
Even the most experienced of midfielders would have struggled in that moment and maybe even only some of the top strikers in the Premier League would have been able to convert the opportunity.
There was also a hint of Rushworth pulling Armstrong back a bit by the waist, which could have impacted his ability to get a header in on goal.
He'll learn from that, but David Moyes will definitely want to see him start showing some cutting edge in the box when the opportunity presents itself.