IT’S DIGNE DELIGHT
Last-ditch strike spares Silva’s blushes
THEY looked like a team who had lost a semi- final. One player lay on the floor, unable to move. Another buried his face in his shirt, so as not to display his emotions.
The manager, meanwhile, left the field chuntering and shaking his head in disbelief.
Watford had ‘only’ taken a point at Goodison Park but you could see from the varying reactions how much this hurt. Up until the 96th minute it had appeared they were going to extract the perfect revenge on Marco Silva but one calamity ruined it all.
For Everton, there were no complaints. Having lost the Merseyside derby at such a late stage, they were not going to quibble about Lucas Digne’s lastgasp free-kick — awarded after a needless handball by Christian Kabasele — and Silva, certainly, was relieved to have saved face.
Deep down, though, Everton will know they got away with it. Watford had come north to make a statement to their old manager and they so nearly did. For much of the night, Javi Gracia’s powerful side had left Silva looking like a sulking teenager. It really should have ended that way.
‘It was difficult,’ said Gracia. ‘It was tough to accept. We have lost a very good chance to win but I have to be happy with the performance.’
If you had read Silva’s programme notes without previous knowledge, it would have been impossible to work out that he had spent time managing at Vicarage Road. The only reference to his old club was a cursory welcome to the directors, staff and players wrapped up in 17 words.
He may have been trying to defuse the situation but the Watford fans who had travelled north were ready to make a point, armed with inflatable snakes and banners to question Silva’s integrity.
Silva claimed not to have seen or heard anything but, plainly, this was one game he did not want to end in embarrassment. And during the opening 15 minutes, when they played with verve and took the lead, all seemed to be going to plan.
Watford will feel aggrieved that assistant referee Simon Long did not come to their aid when Theo Walcott touched the ball in an offside position but that was the only thing that could have saved them, as Everton’s passing and movement carved them open.
Walcott started the move, ushering Seamus Coleman forward before Andre Gomes took over, turning one way but then twisting another before darting into the area. Gomes’s perfectly weighted pass needed to be converted and Richarlison did the rest, thrashing his drive beyond Ben Foster.
‘I prefer not to say anything about the referee’s decision,’ said Gracia with a grimace. ‘But it is difficult to accept every day the same situation. What can we do? Keep working, keep playing, try to improve the things that we can.’
Everton looked so comfortable at that stage, but Watford began to creep back into the contest, a brigade of 10 in bottle green who had no intentions of falling.
They are big, powerful side and, in certain moments, their physicality caused the hosts trouble. In the 63rd minute, their aggression reaped dividends.
Coleman could not get out of the way of a shot from Roberto Pereyra that bounced off the post and rebounded on to him past Jordan Pickford. And 130 seconds later, Pereyra was involved again — his cross met by a bullet header from Abdoulaye Doucoure.
When Gylfi Sigurdsson then had a penalty saved by Ben Foster — his second miss from 12 yards of the season — that should have been it but Digne had one last moment. Silva did not celebrate when the ball hit the net. It was wise he refrained. Everton, after all, had got lucky.
‘We are not happy with the result,’ Silva said. It was a statement with which Gracia could only agree. EVERTON (4-2-3-1): Pickford 6; Coleman 6, Keane 6, Mina 6, Digne 7.5; Gueye 7.5 (Tosun 72min, 6), Gomes 6; Walcott 5 (Lookman 66, 6), Sigurdsson 5.5, Bernard 5 (Calvert-Lewin 66, 6); Richarlison 7.
Subs not used: Stekelenburg, Baines, Zouma, Davies. Scorers: Richarlison 15, Digne 90+6. Booked: Mina.
Manager: Marco Silva 6. WATFORD (4-2-3-1): Foster 7; Femenia 7, Cathcart 7, Kabasele 7, Holebas 7; Doucoure 8, Quina 7 (Mariappa 90); Sema 7 (Deulofeu 60, 7.5), Success 7 (Chalobah 76),
PEREYRA 8.5; Deeney 8. Subs not used: Gomes, Masina, Wilmot, Okaka. Scorers: Coleman 63 og, Doucoure 65. Booked: Kabasele, Chalobah.
Manager: Javi Gracia 7. Referee: Kevin Friend 5.
Attendance: 38,400.