Coure strength
FAB AB ON TARGET AGAIN AS TOFFEES EASE TENSION
Everton
IT was not quite the same outpouring of joy and relief that greeted the final whistle when Bournemouth last visited Goodison Park – but it ran it close.
After four consecutive damaging home Premier League defeats, Everton’s place amongst the elite was being questioned.
An Abdoulaye Doucoure goal against the Cherries in May had ensured safety on the final day of the season.
First league goals in an Everton shirt from James Garner and Jack Harrison led the way this time to spark sheer relief amongst the Toffees’ faithful.
Doucoure popped up again with another goal against Bournemouth, while it was also a critical victory for manager Sean Dyche whose credit in the bank for last season’s rescue heroics was rapidly diminishing.
For the visitors and their manager Andoni Iraola, the wait for a first league win of the season continues. A week earlier against Luton, 23 chances had come and gone leaving Everton in the mire.
Oh for a change of fortune. And on cue the gods of fate delivered in the eighth minute to quell any sign of an early rebellion amongst frustrated home fans.
Illia Zabarnyi slipped and Garner was off on a direct run into the area to cooly drill home his first Premier League goal for the Merseysiders.
There was not an ounce of luck when Everton came alive again before the break.
Neto’s punched clearance from a Vitaliy Mykolenko cross reached Harrison lurking outside the area and the on-loan Leeds man’s first-time strike looped over the keeper and went in off the crossbar.
Everton could and should have put the game to bed in added time before the interval, with Dominic Calvert-lewin heading against the woodwork and Amadou Onana’s sharp turn in the box ending with a shot that went wide.
It did not matter as Doucoure repeated his goalscoring prowess against the southcoast side, hammering home in the 60th minute after Milos Kerkez had blocked on the line a close-range header from Harrison.
There could have been more goals while Jordan Pickford saved from Kieffer Moore.
But it was Everton’s day – cue a standing ovation following the final whistle.
EVERTON: Pickford 7; Young 6, Tarkowski 7, Branthwaite 7, Mykolenko 6; Harrison 8 (Patterson (78) 6), Garner 7, Onana 6, Mcneil 7; Doucoure 7 (Chermiti (90) 6); Calvert-lewin 7 (Beto (83) 6) BOURNEMOUTH: Neto 6; Smith 6 (Aarons (86) 6), Zabarnyi 6, Senesi 6, Kerkez 7 (Brooks (66) 6); Billing 5, Cook 5 (Moore (66) 5) Tavernier 6, Christie 6, Ouattara 5 (Sinisterra (57) 5); Solanke 6 STAR MAN: Jack Harrison – On-loan Leeds man was a bundle of energy capped with a brilliant goal. REF: David Coote 8