Everton finish Australia Tour on a high note

Mind you, what is there to say?

Just post the result of the penalty shoot-out later.

McNeil playing a more central or free role and spraying nice balls around as well as a great cross at one point.

Gordon and Gray look full of energy but that final top quality cross or shot is lacking to make us clinical.

I'd like to see MIlls and Cannon get a full half of football on as a sub.

Najjarine scored for WSW.

The Everton goals are on the official Twitter account – you don't need to have an account to watch them.

You'll get it on Bet 365. Unfortunately you need an account.

4/1 now

I'm not sure I've learnt much from watching this. Maybe that Price is the pick of the youngsters, and that we'd probably dominate the Australian A-League.

The squad looks relaxed and like they have enjoyed the tournament. Hopefully a few January signings and we go again.

They all seem comfortable on the ball and tend to make the right pass forward more than often than not, a quality bunch coming though.

Price was full of confidence, it was great to see. Special mention to McNeil who played like a senior player and Gordon was massively up for it.

Let's hope seeing what Everton means to 1000s of people out here and the bonding among the lads gives them extra lift for the rest of the season. COYB!

“We've won 5-1!”
“Who were we playing?" she asks....
“Western Sydney Wanderers” I reply.
“Where are they from?” is the response.
“The clue is in the name” I answer.

“Yeah, but with ‘Wanderers', they could be from anywhere…. Perth?”

(Life with a Blue…)

It's nice to be positive again after a Blues match!

Just watched a dominant enjoyable game but thought I'd come on here to have a moan about Michael Keane, McNeil, Kenwright, Moyesey, Tony Hibbert, Osman etc.

Thanks.

I'd rather see them do it Boxing Day, then turn up at Man City with an attitude that isn't the usual "Oh… it's Man City, isn't it."

Let's see them show us they mean business.

We should have done this to Bournemouth and to Inchy's lot in the US – what was the difference I wonder?? Try young players with a point to prove and what looked like a motivated Anthony Gordon.

Okay, it means nothing but important that we showed we can score goals.
Well done boys!!

Play the kids, get some shots on target, score some goals, get the ball forward a lot quicker. Okay, only Isaac Price started, but Mills and Cannon got a good 30 minutes playing time, with Joe Anderson, Reece Welch and Seb Quirk also getting a run-out.

We had plenty of shots, scored some good goals and zipped the ball forward, particularly from Dwight McNeil and Tarkowski. Anthony Gordon made some decent forward runs throughout the game, with McNeil, Patterson and even Doucoure (now and again) getting forward a lot.

The stand-out player for me though was Isaac Price. Dare Frank start him in the Premier League though, is the burning question.

Dammed if we win, dammed if we lose!

Cannon is interesting. He never looked as skillful or sophisticated as the others in U21 games but stuff happened around him – Stracqualursi-ish determination maybe?

I had to drop for the second half so unfortunately didn't get to see Cannon play. I thought it was great, patient build-up play for the second goal. Retain possession, but then go forward with intent. Great reverse pass from Gray and was that a cheeky finish by Gordon or did it come off his trailing leg? Who cares?!!

I thought Gray at times was his usual self. Gets into a great position and then fluffs his lines or fails to look up and find the better option.

Interesting to see the 21-year-old Patterson calling over the 29-year-old Doucoure and giving him instructions. I've seen Patterson do that to his team mates a few times this season. Seems to be a confident young lad.

Hopefully this tour has reset the squad and they can show up on Boxing Day.

Isaac Price deserves a place in the first team now, with injury to Garner its a like for like, as does Cannon and Mills.

A good confidence booster for the Wolves game.

Isaac Price deserves a place in the first team now, with injury to Garner its a like for like, as does Cannon and Mills.

A good confidence booster for the Wolves game.

I didn't have a feed for the game but did I read from other posters' phrases like “retaining possession” “going forward with intent“ “plenty of shots“ “zipping the ball forward” “decent runs forward”?

Maybe there's a clue in there somewhere Frank?

Tom Cannon looks a decent enough young footballer, but nowhere near Premier League level at this point. Maupay is never going to get any better and looks exactly what he is – a Brighton squad player. With Richarlison gone, and Calvert-Lewin fragile, we're in big trouble without a player who can hold up play and bang in some goals.

I bet Moshiri and Kenwright are made up!

Sigh.

Also we seemed to do quite a bit of switching play with long diagonals.

Again though, I only caught the first half.

Sorry to hear David Johnson passed away. Was one of my faves until he went to RS.

😀

It just goes to show what can be achieved and it's taken a young kid to come in and do it.

Please I'm only joking Micheal, you do a great job. Coyb👮

I said before hand, if we can give Price, Mills and Cannon a run out, be nice to see what they can offer, price has had a good run out and looked good in both games so for me that's a big plus, playing from the start has helped a lot.

Not seen enough of mills and cannon, would have liked to see at least one of the two start the game, instead of from the bench.

All in all a bit of team bonding, Price being the big plus, have a feeling though come Boxing Day and beyond, he will be back in the u23s, until the fa cup games roll out.

Hopefully the big guys noticed Gordon's three goals, so that if they come knocking, at least it pushes his stock up a little.

Pleased to see Gordon have a great game and Price showing what a simple game can do with his link up play, accurate passing and constant availability. I thought they both made a huge difference in this game.

The other young lads came on and didnt disgrace themselves but IMO didnt have enough time to get into the game.

Frank has a real conundrum now. Whether to stick or twist when the season starts up again. Go with the tried and tested failures or go with some youngsters.

The Wolves game will be vital for points and confidence especially with Man. City coming up.

Just looked up his record to see he played only 49 times in his first spell with us. I was young but he seemed to be around for ever and was an exciting player. A bit of a furore when he ended up at the RS.

40 appearances in his second spell not so memorable and I can hardly fit them into my recollection of the time. Still think of him as an Everton player though.

For me those long diagonals are absolutely key to a 4-3-3. The dark side do it well, just as one of the full-backs bombs forward to join the winger they'll target them as a double-up. We did a few today and it worked.

As others have said also, young Isaac Price didn't shit out of the turn-it and play-it moves. This also opened up the fast counter. With Gordon and Gray we are actually dangerous on the counter. If only Gray had a left foot!

Personally, I'd like Frank to grow a pair of balls and play one destroyer (Onana or Gana) next to two ballers (Price, Iwobi, Garner…. and maybe McNeil can convert here too?).

Unfortunately, I think that as others have noted, Frank will put out his favourites on Boxing Day… the only hope is Maupay and Gordon in the mood they were today.

Hopefully this has done Anthony's head and confidence the world of good.

The diagonals worked and you're right, it's what they've been doing the past few seasons. I'd be interested to see if it's something Lewis Warrington would do when he comes back off loan as he has that range of passing on him. Can he step up to senior level is the question?

Yes, Gray is always looking to come in on his right foot, which gives the defender time. Maybe play him on the right? But then I still think he's going for goal on his own. Just get your head up!!

Good to end on a positive. Just take it back to Goodison and Boxing Day.

Really pleased for the Down Under Blues more than anything else. I hope you enjoyed seeing them. You certainly created a great atmosphere. Respect.

Better think about that Frank?

Nice to see plenty of blues of All ages having a good time.

Graham(?) what did you and your 16 yr old daughter think of it.

Hopefully the start!

Still remembering his goal against Liverpool. Even though the crowd surged and I didn't actually see it go on

David Johnson is one of the first Everton players I remember. But he was a Liverpool player!!

When we signed him in 1982, my dad had to sit me down and explain as my natural frown, engrained dislike of them and inquisitiveness made me suspicious.

I said to Chris (sorry for the repeat Chris), but arguably one of the last of a generation that, despite his achievements, never made a fuss about it.

Glad it was a good night in that hemisphere.

Unfortunately, the 2 games kept magnifying that Doucouré and Holgate are no longer good enough for us.

Douc made a few passes that were not constructional and put Price in situations that were more difficult than needed: FFS, he is the veteran and should know better!

Enough said about the equaliser by the Wanderers. Having Holgate as the partner, I've not seen Tarky having so much nervous moments as a Blue when the Wanderers made the run after tying the game.

Quick tangent: Nathan had some lung-busting, overlapping 20 yards sprints into the final third and more often than not, Gordon "chose" not to use him effectively. That's certainly one of the fuels for all those Frank-haters out there!

I hate being so negative about the team I love but they've worn me down to this over the years.

Also impressed with the skills and attitude that the the WSW players brought to the game. They tried to take the game to us and varied their play from time phase to phase throughout the game. Guy sitting next to me, a local fan, told me that there is a salary cap in place and theirs is about $3.5m.

Ultimately, we were too strong for them as we played some good football. In the centre of the field our guys were still getting in each others way too often.

Maupay's efforts were immense but it was easy to see his frustration when he was pressing and had no support on several occasions. Price is probably ready to be included in the match day squads. He was calm, controlled, strong and knows how to make a pass. One young lad, who impressed me was "Quirk?" (orange boots - so do I have the right name?) when he came on later in the game. He seemed to be a calm and collected, no fuss player. I can't say that any of the younger players let them or the team down. Vinaigre played well but tired around 60 minutes.
Keane played well when he came on. Holgate was steady throughout.

Gordon is still rough around the edges but clearly will progress to being a top player. Gary needs to sharpen up in terms of taking a shot sooner, rather than turning back, looking for support. Same, too, for others. The Douc needs more games to sharpen up, too but is clearly strong in his position.

Good to get a win and well done to the Blues fan, who hit the bar in the half time break and played to the crowd, particularly the Everton fans.

Back to reality after the WC!!

Your description of Seb Quirk fitted the way I see the lad; I've watched him for a few years now from his beginning in the youth team and U21s and hoped that he was going to make the first team but doubted it.

This season though I've seen a big improvement in his game, always in the action, good passing, long and short, a real team player, he reminds me of a very good midfield player who was a big part of Everton's success at the time, Paul Bracewell who put the team first and himself last.

The reason I have a big interest in the lad, without knowing him personally, is I knew his grandmother very well. So keep on improving, lad, get another contract, Theresa will be watching you and be so proud of you, best of luck lad.

I get your point, but Argentina and Germany couldn't do it against inferior opposition when it really did matter. It may be an old cliche, but you can only beat what's in front of you.

I thought we played well yesterday, and hopefully will be a confidence booster for the upcoming Premier League games. It's still well over four weeks before we all start again, so I wonder if there are any more mid-season break friendlies lined up?

How many turned out? Do you remember them giving the attendance?

Thanks.

Who are you talking about mate, you couldn't give us a 4-4-2 (clue!) could you.

@Michael, I think I recall the commentator saying it was in excess of 30,000. I don't know the exact, but definitely above 30,000.

Interesting to see the safe standing areas behind the goals, or certainly the end where the WSW supporters were dominant. Something I hope we can look forward to at Bramley-Moore Dock.

It increases capacity for certain matches and, to be honest, I don't recall the last time I sat down at an away match. Maybe Wolves, but I was in with the home supporters.

I watched Lampard's post match interview and he said the lads deserved some time off when they get back so who knows if any other friendlies are in the offing.

It might be best to leave it at that. As you say, it's a nice confidence booster and a loss in another friendly may be counter-productive.