Everton “got it right” against Fulham, says James Tarkowski

Everton vice-captain James Tarkowski believes the Toffees “got it right” against Fulham in their 2-0 win at Hill Dickinson Stadium on Saturday.

Goals from Idrissa Gana Gueye and Michael Keane helped the Blues pick up their first win since the comeback victory against Crystal Palace in October. It was also Everton’s first clean sheet since their goalless draw with Aston Villa in September.

Tarkowski had the ball in the back of the net against the Cottagers but his volley was ruled out after the centre-back was deemed offside in the initial buildup. However, his back post header rebounded off the crossbar before falling to Gueye’s path and the Senegalese finished the move to score the opener.

"The margins have been close recently," he told BBC Radio Merseyside. "We have had some decent performances without seeing games off, or made costly errors that led to us getting beaten - especially in the Spurs game.

"We were good at both ends. We scored some goals and had a couple disallowed for marginal offside and apart from a couple of chances, we dominated for most of the game.

"We got it right. If you put the ball in the back of the net then that is all we can do.”

In the absence of Jarrad Branthwaite this season, Michael Keane has stepped up in defence. Tarkowski’s own form has been inconsistent, and the Blues have conceded 13 goals in 11 matches this season. 

Five of those goals came in the back-to-back defeats against Manchester City and Tottenham Hotspur. Spurs are the only side to score more than two goals against Everton in the league this season as Micky Van de Ven scored twice from corner-kicks, while Pape Matar Sarr finished off a late counter with former Toffee Richarlison providing the assist to him.

"We have been working on set-pieces a lot after seeing loads of teams score from them,” Tarkowski added.

"We have always had a pretty good defensive record, it is something we have prided ourselves on since I have been here, but recently we hadn't got the details right.

"We will enjoy the break now and then come back ready for the Christmas run-in."

 

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