Unlucky Given hands Toffees

EVERTON 1 Given (51 og) STOKE CITY 0

RONALD KOEMAN registered his first home League win as Everton manager but required the assistance of a Shay Given own goal from a Leighton Baines penalty to achieve it.

The defender’s secondhalf spot-kick rebounded back off a post and the Stoke goalkeeper to secure a 1-0 win which should have been far more comfortable.

Nevertheless, victory gave Everton their best start to a season since 2006.

Koeman handed a first Premier League start to new centre-back Ashley Williams, and also winger Yannick Bolasie, but it was a defender at the other end of the pitch who caught the eye.

It was not really a case of trying to stake a claim for an England recall in front of new boss Sam Allardyce as Ryan Shawcross has been playing like this, when injuryfree, for most of the time he has been at Stoke.

His England involvement was over before it began in 2012 when he came on as a 74th-minute substitute in a friendly against Sweden and promptly saw Zlatan Ibrahimovic score a hattrick. Shawcross believes those 16 minutes ruined his international career but with Allardyce, a man known for his admiration of no-nonsense defending, now in charge, he could get a second chance at 28.

He was beaten by Romelu Lukaku, who still looks well short of form, midway through the first half, but had the presence of mind to retreat and hack away the Belgium striker’s effort, when he shot past Given.

Shawcross then deflected Kevin Mirallas’ header into the arms of his goalkeeper and made a crucial interception to deny Lukaku.

At times it felt like only he stood between the hosts and them running away with the game.

The extra-long legs of team-mate Peter Crouch, who had Stoke’s one genuine effort of the first