Former Everton defender Michael Ball discusses the positives he took from the Blues' last-gasp draw at Brentford
Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall of Everton celebrates (Photo by Alex Broadway/Getty Images)
Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall of Everton celebrates (Photo by Alex Broadway/Getty Images)
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Having three weeks off as a player is tough. You have to try and stay fresh to make sure you hit the ground running when you return, but the break disrupts your momentum and that can be a challenge.
We saw that early in the Brentford game. Against Chelsea, Everton broke up for the international break with a fine win built on intensity. That was gone in the early stages at the Gtech. The Blues were slow to get going, they looked a bit lethargic and were caught out for the first goal. That was unlike Everton this season.
The game threatened to be an uphill battle from then but this ended up being a performance that was all about resilience. I have probably spent far too many column inches on the topic of Everton pressing self-destruct when something goes against them - just think back to the collapses after the Wolves and Bournemouth equalisers, or the Brentford opening goal, at Hill Dickinson Stadium in January. Red cards and costly further goals were among the consequences of losing control in those matches and you could quickly see a scenario unfolding whereby the players appeared to think there was little they could do to push back against the momentum of the match.
That was not the casein west London on Saturday. This was always going to be a difficult game. No matter how much we all wanted Everton to set down a marker, Brentford are where they are for a reason and they too knew the importance of this game for their own ambitions.
Earning a point after going behind twice was a real display of maturity and resilience. You could see the rhythm was not there in Everton's play and the game was quite scrappy but to still come away having avoided a damaging defeat was important.
Although Everton went behind just after Moyes made three changes in the second half, I was pleased to see him being proactive. There have been times since his return when changes appeared reactive, or forced. On Saturday it was the Scot who was the first to act and I liked that he attempted to seize the initiative. I was particularly impressed with one of those players he introduced, Tyrique George. He was direct and tried to have a go, he was a different type of player and I thought he livened the game up.
Whatever he has been doing at Finch Farm, he seems to have earned the confidence of his teammates - with the pressure on they were happy to give him the ball despite his youth, his lack of minutes, and the pressure of the occasion.
The players knew he was a threat and tried to find him. He was effective and that was a positive to take away from the game.
As I have tried to make clear, it was not the only boost. The resilience was vital. Moyes has created a team that believes it can pull a result out of a game in the final minutes. This was another late, important goal - like Beto's at Brighton and Thierno Barry’s winner at Newcastle. When you are a player and you experience your team getting over the line against the odds it really feeds into your mentality. When you keep doing that, you and your teammates begin to face adversity with a completely different approach - you believe you can overcome it together. That is so important and it could be vital in the weeks ahead.