Nick Szczepanik's press verdict: Everton

Most of the Sunday papers have regular Merseyside men and they were naturally all present in the cramped Goodison Park press box on Saturday afternoon, peering past the columns that hold up the main stand roof at Everton’s efforts to bury the bad memories of their dreadful second half in their FA Cup third round defeat.

Nick Szczepanik

2020-01-12T07:00:00Z

Nick Szczepanik delivers the media's verdict on Saturday's game.

And that, quite naturally, was the entire plot of their stories, with Albion cast as bit-part players in the drama of Everton manager Carlo Ancelotti’s attempts to get the home supporters back onside.

Steve Brenner of The Sun even reminded readers of the visit of disgruntled fans to the Toffees’ Finch Farm training ground before getting on to the mundane business of reporting the events of the match.

He wrote that “Graham Potter … needs to improve Brighton's away form. They have only won once on the road in the league since the opening day and almost fell behind on 25 minutes when [Dominic] Calvert-Lewin curled once just wide of the far post.

“But Potter’s men were unable to break Everton’s spell and after Richarlison tested keeper Mat Ryan, he popped up again just moments later to curl in a superb - and deserved - opener.

“Aussie Ryan is donating £260 (A$ 500) for every save made in the Premier League this weekend to help boost efforts to quell the awful fires which are ripping through his homeland.

Shane Duffy makes a diving header.

“The Brighton keeper, however, could do nothing about the Brazilian’s opener. Lucas Digne teed him up after Bernard found him on the edge of the box and the former Watford ace superbly guided the ball into the corner.

“The turn to get away from Adam Webster was pure class, as was the first touch and finish.

“Brighton needed a spark. Something to get back into a game which was slipping from their grasp.

"They were certainly better after the re-start with Leandro Trossard smashing against the bar on 53 minutes with Jordan Pickford beaten.

“A superb last-gasp challenge from Dunk denied Richarlison soon after.”

Derek Hunter of the Mail on Sunday wrote that: “Everton's support witnessed a win that was just about deserved, although there were moments of fright as nerves kicked in. Leandro Trossard, a growing threat on the left as the game progressed, cut in from the wing early in the second half and struck an angled shot that bounced off the bar.

“Later on, Mason Holgate almost turned a Pascal Gross into his own net, and Jordan Pickford had to get down low to push away a header from substitute Glenn Murray. In the final three minutes, Murray stretched to poke wide from Neal Maupay's through ball, when he really ought to have scored.”

Martin Montoya looks for options higher up the pitch.

Paul Wilson of The Observer wrote that “while Ancelotti will have been pleased that the home crowd got behind the players, he will be aware that the mood might easily have shifted had Brighton grabbed a draw with one of a couple of late chances. Such a result would have flattered a rather pallid Brighton performance, but after failing once again to turn their superiority into goals Everton knew they were living dangerously.

“Graham Potter acknowledged his side could have earned a point in the end, but was honest enough to admit it would have been unmerited. ‘I can’t sit here and say we deserved anything,’ he said. ‘We didn’t do enough in the final third’.”

“Brighton were obliged to step up their attacking efforts in the second half – or actually produce some attacking efforts after a fairly unproductive first period – and Leandro Trossard offered some encouragement to the travelling support in the Bullens Road stand by cutting in from the left and hitting the top of Jordan Pickford’s bar.

“The visitors had their best moment … when the evergreen Glenn Murray produced a glancing header on target from Trossard’s cross, only to see Pickford fling himself across goal to keep it out.

“There was still time for another Murray near miss before the end, as Ancelotti sent on his defensive substitutes to protect a slender lead.”

Maty Ryan makes a one-handed save.

Paul Joyce of The Sunday Times commented, “Certainly, the Italian would have enjoyed little of the second-half as Everton’s failure to claim a second goal, and Brighton’s quest for parity, ensured the game see-sawed back and forth.”

Chris Bascombe of The Sunday Telegraph wrote that, “Brighton were unlucky when Leandro Trossard hit the bar from the edge of the box on 53 minutes - and Mason Holgate almost diverted a cross into his own goal - but generally the visitors lacked penetration and had goalkeeper Ryan to thank for maintaining competitiveness.

“He saved from Dominic Calvert-Lewin, who was also booked after being adjudged to have deliberately handled into the net - a goal correctly chalked off by the video assistant referee.

“It was the fear of another Everton failure which gripped in the latter stages, encouraging Brighton’s most productive period.

“Jordan Pickford shoved away Glenn Murray’s header, and the striker missed an easier chance from close range as home anxieties lingered in the final stages.”