Chris Beesley's analysis after Everton came from behind to beat Fulham at Craven Cottage
Jordan Pickford impressed in Everton's victory
Jordan Pickford impressed in Everton's victory(Image: Getty Images)
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In a game that featured a couple of own goals, the nature of how the ball went into the respective Everton and Fulham nets reflected the performances of the two goalkeepers on the pitch.
It irks this correspondent more than it really should do and of course nobody should be surprised in the slightest, but wherever the Blues go on the Premier League circuit, the pre-match score predictions of home mascots inevitably forecast victories for their side.
This trip to Craven Cottage was no different and while these naive youngsters really should know better, but David Moyes has been pulling off victories like this in the Premier League since some of their parents were in school. The Glaswegian gaffer is now unbeaten in his last 11 matches against Fulham and has beaten them 21 times in the Premier League.
Along with Alex Ferguson and Arsene Wenger, the only two managers to have taken charge of more Premier League matches than himself, he is one of only three men to win 20 plus matches against a single club. During the small talk with the mascots though, with a couple of the Fulham fans citing Bernt Leno as their favourite player and their Everton opposite number choosing Jordan Pickford, this was billed as an encounter between two top keepers.
However, it was anything but. England number one keeper Pickford – with Thomas Tuchel watching from the stands – kept his side in the contest when they were losing and made an impressive save to deny Raul Jimenez before the rebound hit Vitalii Mykolenko. In contrast, Leno should have probably done better with the hand he got to Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall’s equaliser and only he can explain what he was doing when punching the same Everton player’s corner-kick into his own net for the winner.
Smells like teen spirit
Wherever Moyes deploys Harrison Armstrong, he continues to look at home and in his first game since it was confirmed that the West Derby prospect will be remaining at Everton for the rest of the season rather than being sent back on loan to Preston North End for a second time, he took on yet another new role. Having moved to Deepdale on transfer deadline day of the summer window only to be brought back early on New Year’s Day, Armstrong’s future had remained up in the air until Moyes revealed he’d be staying the day after the 1-1 draw at Brighton & Hove Albion.
Starting on the right at the Amex Stadium, Armstrong initially switched wings with Iliman Ndiaye at Craven Cottage to begin on the left, although the pair would swap flanks again after just a few minutes. You’d expect the Blues home-grown hero to eventually settle into a central role in the side, but right now he’s gaining regular minutes with his boyhood club having done more than the likes of Tyler Dibling, Dwight McNeil and Charly Alcaraz this season, a trio who cost the club a combined £58million.
Armstrong has now featured in all seven of Everton’s matches since he came back and started the last six in a row. The production line of academy talent had dried up somewhat in recent years, but the first Scouser to play in a competitive match at Hill Dickinson Stadium keeps learning quickly at the highest level.
Caution with the Carlisle Kaiser
Given his paucity of options just a month ago, it’s incredible really that Moyes can keep Jarrad Branthwaite, Everton’s most valuable player who penned a new five-year contract last summer, up his sleeve until the 85th minute of a match like this. With natural left-back Vitalii Mykolenko fit again after missing the trip to the Amex Stadium, the Blues broke up their four centre-back defence and perhaps wisely with an eye on Tuesday’s home game against Bournemouth, Moyes managed Branthwaite’s playing time by sticking him on the bench.
After not playing a competitive match for eight months since Everton’s farewell to Goodison Park on May 18, the England international turned out for 135 minutes over the space of five days against Leeds United and Brighton & Hove Albion. Here, he still played a meaningful cameo, heading out a cross from fellow substitute Kenny Tete, a player who was a transfer target last summer for the Blues, who are back to fielding another central defender Jake O’Brien in his right-back position.
The fact that Moyes can feel comfortable in easing Branthwaite back in his down to the form of Michael Keane, who impressed again here on what was his 200th Premier League start as an Everton player. For all the former Burnley man’s ups and downs over his nine seasons on Merseyside, he’s been one of their most consistent performers this term and has now bounced back from being slapped by team-mate Idrissa Gueye and picking up an equally bizarre red card for himself when pulling Wolverhampton Wanderers striker Tolu Arokodare’s hair.