Allardyce finds home comforts
THERE were bear hugs and high fives and eventually a roar of relief. Sam Allardyce had demanded a response following last weekend’s calamity and ultimately got it.
Everton deserved their victory over Crystal Palace. They made fewer mistakes, were resolute and got the breaks when they needed to atone for how they allowed Arsenal to annihilate them. It would be going overboard, though, to say this was a happy afternoon at Goodison Park.
For long periods, particularly in a grey and charmless first half, the tension inside the stadium was impossible to escape but the standout moment came i n the 80th minute, when – to a soundtrack of booing – Morgan Schneiderlin was introduced for the injured Idrissa Gana Gueye.
‘I was surprised, very surprised,’ said Allardyce. ‘I’ve not heard that before. Morgan is a very important part of our squad. A lot of players haven’t performed up to their potential, we know that. But I can’t ask for more from them at home. Away has been the problem.’
The reaction may have startled Everton’s manager but this latest success has propelled his team into ninth place. No matter how bad the campaign has been, they will not be relegated.
When they eventually cranked into gear — and Gylfi Sigurdsson, Oumar Niasse and Tom Davies scored the goals — Everton had more than enough to take care of Crystal Palace. It just took them a painfully long time to get there.
An incident in the last minute encapsulated the first half, as Everton were awarded a free kick on the halfway line but the players were terribly slow to react. Allardyce went ballistic and urged them forward, furiously waving his arm like an overworked tic- tac man. When they eventually got into position, Ashley Williams — just on as a substitute for the injured Eliaquim Mangala — hoisted the ball up and referee Jon Moss promptly whistled for the interval.
Fans did not seem in a hurry to get back to their seats and that indifference was costly as they missed Sigurdsson’s goal.
A lay-off from Niasse sat up perfectly for Sigurdsson, whose firsttime drive skimmed off James Tomkins’ leg and skidded beyond Wayne Hennessey. He may have been burdened by his £45million price tag this year but the Iceland midfielder has not gone into hiding.
Everton had doubled their advantage within five minutes when Niasse was unmarked eight yards out — the Senegalese forward heading home Cuco Martina’s cross.
Things might have been different had Palace’s finishing been sharper, not least when Christian Benteke should have halved the deficit in the 56th minute but planted a header wide of the far post. His confidence is desperately low.
Palace were breached for a third time when Tom Davies finished from six yards after Sigurdsson cut back a loose ball after Hennessey had thwarted Niasse.
‘That shows the difference between being 3-0 up and 2-0 up,’ said Allardyce, who revealed Seamus Coleman will have a scan on a hamstring injury today. ‘We played the game out really well. Defensively we were very solid.’
There was time for Palace to get a consolation when captain Luka Milivojevic crashed in a penalty after Williams was adjudged to have handled. Hodgson, who shook hands with Allardyce, confirmed an i nci dent i n 2016 — when Allardyce mocked his manner of speaking — has been forgotten. ‘ Sam call ed me on Thursday evening and apologised to me and I was happy to accept that apology and as far as I’m concerned, that matter belongs in the distant past.’