HUDDERSFIELD
IT HAS not taken long for the sound that accompanied Sam Allardyce’s brief tenure at Goodison to return this season.
At the end of this poor contest, the boos ringing around Goodison reflected anger at the decisions of referee Stuart Attwell for sure, but also at the alarmingly uncreative performance of Everton.
There were murmurs when Gylfi Sigurdsson – in the absence of Richarlison the Blues’ best chance of breaking down a dogged, if limited Huddersfield – was replaced on 70 minutes. That turned into full-on frustration at the end.
And it was shared by Marco Silva, who refused to hide from the ire of his club’s supporters. “It is a normal reaction,” he said with a grimace of the booing. “The fans always want to win and always want to see a big performance.
“So that reaction is normal – we are a big club, and you must do everything to win the match. In some moments we achieved that and in other moments we didn’t.”
It was the lack of creativity which was the biggest concern for Blues boss Silva. “We controlled the possession, but this type of game we have to put far more creativity into our performance,” he said.
Lucas Digne provided some on 35 minutes when he provided the perfect response to Huddersfield’s opener barely a minute earlier, as his fine left-wing cross was expertly, and delicately steered home by the industrious Dominic Calvert-lewin.
But Everton had to wait until the 75th minute to find more inspiration, when substitute Ademola Lookman – who came on to the biggest cheer of the day – provided a fine run and cross, which should be have been converted by Cenk Tosun.
And that was it for the home fans, who had every right to vent their unrest, even if the suspended Richarlison is a big miss, Theo Walcott limped off injured and Bernard isn’t yet fit enough to provide his Brazilian magic.
“We cannot use the excuse of missing players, we still had 11 out there, and it is their job to find a way,” Silva said, bluntly.
If there was frustration from Everton, then it was reflected slightly by visiting manager David Wagner, who felt his team got themselves into a position to take victory here at Goodison, but showed naivety in throwing it away so quickly.
“We were organised, had a fantastic defensive effort, and showed great communication and discipline, but when we took the lead we only held it for a minute. If you want to take the negative, then that was certainly it!” he said with a smile.
He has a point. They scored an impressive goal, exploiting Everton weakness at a corner – “We knew in the past Everton were not the strongest at defending set play,” Wagner said – when the ball flicked off Calvert-lewin and fell to Philip Billing to head home.
But to concede a goal from a position where the striker should not score with his head was a lack of concentration, and Wagner knows how tough it will be for his team to repeat last season’s Premier League survival heroics.
They have just two points after four games, but the German coach insisted it is not time to panic.
He said: “I don’t need to tell my players that, it is more you guys who need not to panic,” he said to the assembled media.
“I have every confidence that we are competitive and that we have a chance to stay up and play a third Premier League season in a row.
“Today I think you could see everybody has the spirit, desire and passion they need to do that.
“We are not at our peak at the moment, but again, the group has this togetherness and this is everything that I need.”