Everton 3 – 0 Doncaster Rovers
A more relaxing start than normal, as my train wasn’t until 14:43 pm. It was delayed slightly so I didn’t get into Lime Street until 17:30 pm.
On the way, I had an interesting conversation with the person opposite me. I hadn’t taken much notice as he was on his phone a lot and had a very strong southeast accent. But then I noticed an Everton tattoo on his forearm. He chose Everton decades ago because he didn’t want to follow Millwall and Crystal Palace like his friends and family. He was travelling up from Kent and is a season ticket holder in the Top Balcony. Respect.
Onto Goodison. I love standing looking at those bright blue crests lit up on the Main Stand at a night match. I hope we take them to Bramley-Moore Dock.
I went into the stadium earlier than usual and watched the warmup. It’s interesting, they do a lot of ball work, so why don’t we play like that more often?
I was looking around at the empty stands wondering if we were in for a very low turnout, but it soon filled out before and after kick-off. Over 37,000 for a Tuesday night match in what for us was the first fixture in the competition against a lower league opposition. Credit to the Doncaster supporters. They brought a healthy following.
Great view in the Upper Gwladys. No obstructed views other than the occasional one when a guy with a walking stick had to stand up and stretch his legs. But I can’t complain about that.
The first half wasn’t great and if you were a neutral, you would be struggling to figure out which was the Premier League team or the League Two team. Best ignored.
But then we sparked in the second half and got the job done. Pickford again made a few good saves when needed. O’Brien looked steady. Let’s see more of him.
Seamus soldiered on, but I would have liked to have seen Dixon on when he came off. I know he appeared eventually, but we brought on Ashley Young. I don’t like to bash players, even if I criticise them for poor performances, but he was getting close to being sent off again.
For me, the midfield looked transformed. I’ve read that many criticised McNeill. I thought he worked hard and was trying to make things happen. Iroegbunam looks quality and Ndiaye looks exciting. His goal was the pick of the bunch.
I know some criticise Beto, but I thought he did well. He had a real battle with their big number 5, who constantly had his arms around him. He certainly didn’t look out of place against Premier League opposition. I must also mention Mykolenko: Unassuming, but steady and reliable.
Finally, and I might get ridiculed here, as well going against many of my previous comments, but if I’m going to pick a Man of the Match, I’m personally going for Michael Keane. You can quote me on that in future! He played very well in my opinion.
I’m not getting carried away by beating Doncaster, but that was a much-needed confidence boost and much better second-half performance. Keep using the players you have been provided with, Mr Dyche. It can change our style of play.
Which leads me to giving Thelwell credit. He’s provided the tools… use them.
Into town and a quick catch-up with my brother at Lime Street as we failed miserably to meet outside Goodison. As always, we agreed and disagreed. Then for me, it was over to Canning Place to catch the last National Express at 23:45 pm, getting to Heathrow at 6am this morning to catch a bus home and straight out with the canines.
Hopefully, I’ll be up Saturday, I just need to wait on a ticket.
Build on this, Blues. It’s all about confidence and momentum.