Everton claimed a 1-0 win over Newcastle United on Boxing Day courtesy of a last minute winning goal from Tom Cleverley.
The visitors dominated the first-half and were unlucky to have their efforts unrewarded in the opening 45 minutes. The only notable event from a dour early period was a possible sending-off when Daryl Janmaat, who already on a yellow card, cynically challenged Aaron Lennon. Lee Mason decided to not give the Dutchman his marching orders, offering a stern warning instead.
Newcastle became more adventurous in the second-half though and were unlucky to not take the lead when a header from Georginio Wijnaldum could not beat Tim Howard. With the clash proving an end-to-end affair only to return no goals, it seemed as though both sides would have to settle for a point each.
This was until the last 20 seconds of injury time, when Rob Elliot punched a corner clear only for Tom Cleverley to score via a looping header, which ensured the Toffees returned to Merseyside with all three points.
Formations
Newcastle made two changes from the side that drew with Aston Villa, both up front with Aleksandr Mitrovic and Ayoze Perez coming in for Papiss Cisse and Siem De Jong. They played ahead of regular midfield quartet Moussa Sissoko, Vurnon Anita, Jack Colback and Wijnaldum. There were also no changes at the back with Daryl Janmaat, Chancel Mbemba, Fabricio Coloccini and Paul Dummett protecting Elliot.
Roberto Martinez also made two changes from last weekend, both coming on the wings with Aaron Lennon and Kevin Mirallas replacing Arouna Kone and Gerard Deulofeu. They offered support to in-form Romelu Lukaku who was unable to add to his goal-scoring run. Ross Barkley, Gareth Barry and Tom Cleverley operated as a midfield trio, while Seamus Coleman, John Stones, Ramiro Funes Mori and Leighton Baines protected Tim Howard at the back.
After being booked 10 minutes in for a clumsy foul, there was a worry that Newcastle right-back Daryl Janmaat would struggle to last the remainder of the match without getting sent off. It seemed like Everton would attempt to try and attack down the Magpies defensive right-side, yet they did the exact opposite. The Toffees decided to press down the opposite wing, possibly because they viewed Dummett as the weaker fullback. Altough the win means that all is well from an Everton point-of-view, it seems strange that they did not try force a situation where they could have had an extra man.
The pitch was not in an ideal state
It seemed clear from the opening minutes that the quality of the pitch was far from ideal. It seemed very heavy underfoot which often led to players misjudging the direction of travel, or the speed at which a pass was delivered. This seemed to affect Newcastle more so in the first-half primarily, who struggled to complete more than five consecutive passes when on an attacking move. Both goalkeepers also felt the burden of the surface, often needing to click their studs against the upright before taking a goal kick.
Everton press causes frequent turnovers
One aspect which separated the two teams was the pressure applied to opposing players when on the ball. Everton midfielders were allowed too much time, while Newcastle’s players had very little before there was a royal blue shirt hunting them down. This led to very contrasting statistics in passing accuracy between the two teams. Ross Barkley completed 95% of his passes, while his Newcastle counterpart Moussa Sissoko completed only 67%. There was also a clear difference in the pressure applied from the wings. Newcastle left-back Dummett could only provide one cross all match, yet on the other side Leighton Baines completed 10.
Newcastle’s lack of fresh legs impacts result
When you are dealing with a pitch which clearly takes a physical toll on the body and have a busy schedule coming up over the new year period, it only seems logical to use all of your available three substitutions. While Roberto Martinez utilised all his changes, Steve McClaren only made one. What is mystifying is that Florian Thauvin was all but stripped and ready in the 65th minute, before being told to sit back down. He would not make his bow until the 85th. It could be a reasonable argument that the reason the Newcastle defence was slow to react to Elliot’s punch was the fatigue among the Magpies players, whereas the freshness of Everton’s legs led them to push that extra mile in injury time.
Newcastle United Conclusion
It is hard to fault the effort of the players, but they seemed to lack a cutting edge in the final-third. Steve McClaren will need to address why he neglected to freshen up the team by using all of the available substitutions.
Everton Conclusion
The Toffees will be delighted that they have finally managed to turn one point into three. Something they have badly struggled with recently, especially away from home. They will look to build on this late winner when they face Stoke City at Goodison Park in a few days time, while Newcastle have a very winnable match on the horizon, as they travel to the Hawthorns to face a stuttering West Bromwich Albion side.
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