Allardyce works his magic to lift Everton
BY the final whistle, the favourite old anthem was booming from the speakers about ‘the team that plays beautiful football’. The players in blue sported huge smiles, a promising young striker had bolstered his reputation and the manager on the touchline was punching the air in delight.
Aren’t Everton supposed to be a club in crisis?
Sam Allardyce will certainly be wondering whether too much of a fuss has been made about Everton’s travails after his opening day went exactly how he would have wanted, goals from Gylfi Sigurdsson and the outstanding Dominic Calvert-Lewin securing a 2-0 win over Huddersfield.
Back-to-back victories in the space of four days have propelled Everton into the Premier League’s top 10 and they are now, remarkably, just seven points and four places behind Tottenham Hotspur. This is no longer a mercy dash and Allardyce is aware of his new club’s considerable potential.
‘It was fantastic, brilliant,’ said a visibly enthused Allardyce. ‘It was not a difficult decision to come here. I knew how good this club was before I arrived and I know I have got to live up to those standards. I just want to try to deliver better performances and see where we go.’
For all there was disquiet amongst swathes of fans about his appointment, Allardyce was given a proper introduction before kick-off and the reception was positive with the majority recognising that it is pointless wasting negative energy.
Allardyce insists public perception doesn’t bother him but, privately, he would have wanted a flying start to settle the situation. When the action started, however, he had to endure 45 minutes of tedium before take-off.
Huddersfield showed little ambition to attack and their poor form on the road is worrying manager David Wagner, whose side have now lost their last five fixtures away from home, conceding 16 and failing to score. They are in danger of wrecking the encouraging start that they made in the top flight.
Initially, though, Everton lacked the gumption to impose themselves. The only attack of note before the interval was a shot from Cuco Martina but Jonas Lossl, Huddersfield’s impressive goalkeeper, was hardly overstretched to deal with it.
The first half ended with Sigurdsson wasting a fine opportunity for Everton to break, his intended ball for Calvert-Lewin missing the target by miles. It was an appropriate way to end the half and Allardyce’s shake of the head and kick at the floor was a telling reaction.
‘I had to do a bit of work at halftime and change things tactically,’ said Allardyce. ‘We needed to find a way to keep Gylfi and Aaron Lennon up the pitch.’
His tweak immediately bore fruit. Within 90 seconds of the restart, Everton had the lead and the tension was released for Allardyce, for the expectant crowd and, above all, for Sigurdsson, who gleefully provided the final touch at the end of a quality move.
It was a passage of play far removed from anything that had gone before. Lennon rolled a pass into Calvert-Lewin, whose backheel opened the pitch up and allowed Sigurdsson to do the rest, sweeping his finish beyond Lossl. ‘A disappointing afternoon for us,’ said Wagner. ‘At half-time I thought we would get something out of the game, even if it wasn’t a nice football match. Everton had this bit of quality, especially for the first goal.’ Sigurdsson’s intervention changed the dynamic. Huddersfield had no option but to come out but that left more pockets for players such as Wayne Rooney and Sigurdsson to prosper and it was the captain, in the 73rd minute, who finally ended the visitors’ resistance.
Rooney has come to life again and the weight of his ball that allowed Calvert-Lewin to scurry away was glorious, the roll and pace resembling a crown green bowl. The young England striker did not have to break stride and his shot squirted in via a deflection off Huddersfield defender Mathias Jorgensen.
‘I was so pleased for Dominic after all his hard work alone up front,’ said Allardyce.
Everton had the luxury of playing the final 15 minutes at half-speed, savouring the noisy acclaim at the final whistle. What a difference a week has made. EvErton (4-2-3-1): Pickford 7; Kenny 7, Holgate 7, Williams 7, Martina 7; Gueye 7, Davies 7 (Schneiderlin 66min, 6); Lennon 7 (Lookman 71, 6), Rooney 8 (Keane 80, 6), Sigurdsson 7.5; Calvert-Lewin 8.5. Booked: Kenny, Davies. Subs (not used): Robles, Keane, Niasse, Vlasic, Baningime. HuddErSfiEld (4-1-4-1): Lossl 6; Smith 6, Zanka 5, Schindler 5, Malone 5 (Mounie 71, 5); Quaner 5 (Palmer 46, 5); Ince 5.5, Williams 5, Mooy 5, Depoitre 5; Kachunga 5. Booked: Malone. Subs (not used): Green, Hogg, Cranie, Lowe, Hadergjonaj. referee: C Kavanagh 7.