38 minutes of dross, and then a game-changing switch. A line in the sand with a substitution. With good reason, Ronald Koeman lost faith in his toothless Everton side who trailed West Brom 1-0 at The Hawthorns. Unlike both his stubborn, reluctant predecessors, neither of them a natural winner, he directly addressed the problem. 22 minutes later, Everton were ahead, then able to confidently see out the first win of his reign.
Koeman understandably named an unchanged side after his first Everton first eleven had performed well against Spurs. But sometimes in life you just have to admit Jonas Olsson has got the better of you. The gigantic Nordic warrior lord had Gerard Deulofeu in the pocket of his figurative tunic. On the right, James McCarthy and Mason Holgate offered little, whilst Leighton Baines found only Gareth Barry weakly sidefooting when he crossed from the left. Everton weren’t creating anything and with the Baggies’ deep defence getting deeper, that seemed unlikely to change.
Koeman could have waited the eight or so minutes until half-time and combined a tactical reshuffle with a massive bollocking. Instead, he ditched his 3-4-2-1, withdrew McCarthy, introduced Romelu Lukaku, shifted Deulofeu to the right and adopted a 4-2-3-1. Immediately, Everton had more width, more space, an outlet, some hope. On the stroke of half-time, they had a brilliant equaliser when a patient passing move ended with Kevin Mirallas playing a one-two-three with Gareth Barry and Ross Barkley before slotting past Ben Foster.
The BBC described Mirallas’ leveller as “straight out of the Martinez playbook” but there were key differences which demonstrated the shift in approach under Koeman. Phil Jagielka was heavily involved though instead of pointlessly passing it around on the edge of his own box, he was somewhat amusingly directing play from inside West Brom’s half. Previously Everton would have drifted sideways cautiously, here they probed the centre quickly. Mirallas’ movement was new – a direct run towards goal to follow a quick ball – and Barkley’s pass to free him more evidence of his increased decisiveness this season.
Rare personal glory for Barry
Barry was at the centre of everything with a series of interceptions and clever passes. It felt entirely fitting then, on his 100th appearance for the club, for him to net the winner. The Toffees were peppering Foster’s goal. Saves from Deulofeu following a corner and Ramiro Funes Mori, who powerfully redirected Mirallas’ free-kick, kept Everton at bay. From the resultant corner however, Deulofeu picked out Holgate whose misfired shot across goal eluded everyone bar the sneaking 35-year-old who headed home. Koeman has had more criticism than praise for his Everton squad so far. His post-match suggestion that Barry is “one of the best players [he had] managed” should not taken lightly. A rare day of personal glory for Everton’s hardest working player.
The win was not without worry. Maarten Stekelenburg made a huge save from Darren Fletcher to keep Everton level. Gareth McAuley’s foul-assisted opener, a recreation of the goal he scored against the Blues last season, made it two headed goals conceded in two games. Also, Funes Mori has already made a worrying amount of errors. Fortunately, Ashley Williams, who appeared for 15 minutes as a replacement for Mirallas, will tackle both problems head on.
Another compelling positive was seeing Yannick Bolasie making his fledgling strides up the wing for Everton. After replacing Deulofeu on 60 mins, Bolasie was lively and direct on the right. He drew players in, beat them with ease and was robbed of two fine assists by two poor finishes. A whipped cross headed well but wide by Barkley, and an inside-left’s delayed through-ball finished meekly by Lukaku offered a glimpse of Bolasie’s considerable talents. Deulofeu and Mirallas, who have started the season well, are now under pressure.
Koeman’s influence is already clear. Everton’s players are better organised, they work hard, they press effectively and are all at the whim of a manager unafraid to alter his approach. This bodes well. A squad comprehensively misguided under Roberto Martinez has been improved and set on the right track. A next six of Yeovil (h), Stoke (h), Sunderland (a), Middlesbrough (h), Bournemouth (a) and Crystal Palace (h) offers Everton the chance to turn a decent start into a very good one. One thing seems clear: there will be consequences if they don’t.
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By Chris Smith
Follow me on Twitter @cdsmith789
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