Painful as Toffees limp to line
THE task could not have been simpler, but it still proved beyond Everton.
While their relegation rivals Leeds were facing Chelsea, all Everton had to do was knock over a team of Championship triallists.
But their away-day blues continued despite the backing of their travelling fans and it looks like they are going to need the full rank and file finally to get them over the line in the next two home games.
The win at Leicester on Sunday ended a run of 11 successive defeats on the road, but on paper this was as easy an away game as you get. Outgoing Watford manager Roy Hodgson made seven changes to their line-up and three untried teenagers on the bench in preparation for the new season.
Still Everton struggled. There was a reluctance from the Toffees to go for the win that would have been a massive stride towards safety.
Demarai Gray, Anthony Gordon, Alex Iwobi and Richarlison all burst forward in turn but with no support and were soon crowded out by Watford’s defence.
Having decamped down the motorway, Everton’s fans were trying to play their part in the one packed corner of Vicarage Road.
They had to wait until the 53rd minute to see their first shot on target at either end, a deflected Richarlison effort which was pawed away by Ben Foster, barely warranting a break in the singing.
Boss Frank Lampard, left, did at last see his men getting more forward, but when Iwobi combined neatly with Gray in the 62nd minute, the latter could only pull his shot wide.
Watford fans were the ones making the noise now. One moment they celebrated, “We’ve got the ball” and the next promised, “You’ll get it back.” Their expectations were not high and the pride and resilience shown by this makeshift side more than met them.
At Everton, the bar is set a bit higher.This crawling to safety simply is not good enough for their long-suffering fans. WATFORD (4-2-3-1): Foster 6; Masina 7, Kabasele 6, Samir 6, Sema 7; Ngakia 6, Gosling 7; Sissoko 7, Kayembe 6 (Etebo 89), Kalu 6 (Cathcart 86); Pedro 7.
EVERTON (3-4-3): Pickford 7; Coleman 7, Keane 7, Holgate 6; Iwobi 8, Doucoure 6, Delph 6 (Allan 81), Mykolenko 6; Gordon 7, Gray 6 (Calvert-Lewin 77), Richarlison 6.