Wayne passes test to show way forward

THE final image of the afternoon suggested it had been one of those days, the kind his critics believe are becoming commonplace. There was Wayne Rooney shaking his head, hands on hips. It was the 90th minute and Brighton goalkeeper Mat Ryan had just beaten away his penalty. When Rooney’s doubters consider him now, they imagine a player consumed by frustration that he cannot produce those hardrunning, buccaneering centre forward displays that used to be 10 a penny. That snapshot is at odds, though, with everything that happened at Goodison on Saturday. The 32-year-old projected poise and calmness, conducting affairs in the middle of the field with authority. It was always expected Rooney would drop deep towards the end of his career, but this deep? He was thrust into the role because Morgan Schneiderlin and Idrissa Gana Gueye were ill, but not once did he look out of place. If anything, he looked a perfect fit. ‘I asked him if he was all right with it and he always says yes,’ said Everton manager Sam Allardyce. ‘It is not always that a midfielder in that position has to be a good defender. He has to be a really good passer, then we do less defending and we get more movements going forward. It was a shame he missed that penalty because he had played really well.’ Rooney had the most passes (66), most accurate passes (53) and kept Everton on the front foot. They looked much better balanced thanks to full backs Seamus Coleman and Leighton Baines working in tandem for the first time this season. Allardyce saw an own-goal from Gaetan Bong and a super finish from Cenk Tosun secure a comfortable 2-0 success. He must have more days like this if he is to be in charge next season, and his chances of doing so would increase if he continued to play the personnel he deployed here. Visiting boss Chris Hughton, with an FA Cup quarter-final against Manchester United coming up, must have been furious with Anthony Knockaert for getting a three-match ban after he was sent off for a horrible lunge at Baines. EVERTON (4-2-3-1): Pickford 7; Coleman 7, Jagielka 7, Keane 7, BAINES 8; Davies 7.5 (Klaassen 84min), Rooney 7.5; Walcott 7 (Calvert-Lewin 73, 6.5), Sigurdsson 7, Bolasie 7 (Holgate 78, 6); Tosun 7.

Subs not used: Robles, Martina, Niasse, Baningime. Scorers: Bong 61 (og), Tosun 76. Manager: Sam Allardyce 7. BRIGHTON (4-4-2): Ryan 7; Schelotto 6, Duffy 6, Dunk 6, Bong 5 (Suttner 82); Knockaert 5, Kayal (Locadia 69, 5), Propper 5, Izquierdo 5; Murray 6, Gross 5. Subs not used: Krul, Bruno, Ulloa, Goldson, March. Booked: Schelotto. Sent off: Knockaert. Manager: Chris Hughton 6. Referee: Roger East 7. Attendance: 39,199.