David Moyes praised an Everton player who may well have been a bit of an unsung hero against Fulham.
The Toffees got back to winning ways on Saturday in the Premier League, coming from behind to beat Fulham at Craven Cottage.
Did anyone else aside from Dewsbury-Hall impress you? 🤔
Fulham v Everton - Premier League
Photo by James Fearn/Getty Images
Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall starred for Everton, scoring and then forcing an own goal by Bernd Leno in the second-half.
It was a big win for Everton, who continue to look really good away from home under David Moyes.
Dewsbury-Hall was praised by Moyes after the game, and he will rightly lap up may plaudits for his contributions.
But Moyes also moved to praise Vitalii Mykolenko.
David Moyes praises Vitalii Mykolenko as Everton beat Fulham
Vitalii Mykolenko playing for Everton.
Photo by Jacques Feeney/Offside/Offside via Getty Images
Mykolenko has come in for a lot of criticism this season for his performances.
Some of that has been warranted. But the Ukraine international probably also gets an overly rough ride at times.
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Against Fulham, he scored a very unfortunate own goal, with Jordan Pickford’s save careering off him and into the goal.
But he picked himself up from that, and made a contribution at the other end of the field.
Can you remember who the last player to do this for Everton was? 🤔
CLUE: It was all the way back in August 2014 vs Chelsea 🕵️♂️
Vitalii Mykolenko of Everton reacts during the Premier League match between Fulham and Everton.
Credit: Getty Images/Jacques Feeney/Offside.
He supplied the pass for Dewsbury-Hall to score the equaliser, and that kind of attacking contributions is something we need to see more of from him.
After the game, Moyes praised his left-back, telling BBC Sport: “He does great. He goes past him and plays the pass for Kiernan. Kiernan missed one last week very similar but today he got one thankfully.”
Much better from Mykolenko
Fair play to Mykolenko. He hadn’t been having the best of games against Fulham, and that own goal – albeit very unfortunate – must have been very frustrating.
But he put it behind him and helped to get his side back into the game.
Vitalii Mykolenko celebrates with his Everton teammates.
Photo by James Fearn/Getty Images
A common criticism of Mykolenko is that he does not deliver enough in he final third. Yes, he’s a defender first and foremost. But full-backs in this day and age are expected to chip in at the other end.
He chipped in against Fulham, and his goal must now be to try and replicate that a bit more often.
It was a good burst to make that space before supplying the final ball, so he is clearly capable.
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