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Everton 0-1 Aston Villa
by James Nalton
at Goodison Park
EVERTON started under David Moyes where they had left off under Sean Dyche, with a 1-0 defeat. Ollie Watkins scored the game’s only goal, gifted to him by Everton in what was, overall, a fairly even game.
New managers who join in the middle of the season cannot be expected to make a difference in the short time they get with players before the next game comes along, so there was no real surprise that this defeat to Aston Villa was more of the same for Everton.
They were a team who looked as well-organised defensively as they had done under Dyche but also just as unlikely to score.
Moyes isn’t a big departure from his predecessor in terms of style, and his team were set up in a tight defensive shape that was difficult to break down.
That was until they broke down themselves.
Watkins should have scored in the first half when Everton right-back Ashley Young played what would have been a perfect through ball into his path were they on the same team.
As it was, Young’s underhit backpass did not cost him as Watkins’ shot started out wide of the far post and there it remained.
Jarrad Branthwaite was not so lucky. His pass following a fight for a loose ball just inside the Villa half fell to Morgan Rogers, who played Watkins in on goal through the gap that would usually be occupied by Branthwaite. Watkins made no mistake on this occasion.
Everton did have a couple of half-chances in attack and their striker, Dominic Calvert-Lewin, played well in general play, working hard and causing problems for the Villa defence.
But as has been the case for the majority of the season, his hard work was not accompanied by a goal.
One effort flew just wide from a difficult angle, and another was cleared off the line by Boubacar Kamara. He would have hoped to have done better with a late chance to equalise from Jesper Lindstrom’s cross, while Lindstrom himself was unlucky not to be awarded a penalty after being pushed while jumping for a header.
Everton’s run is now 12 games with only one win. During those 12 games, they have scored six goals and four of those came in the solitary win against Wolves, two of which were own goals scored by Wolves defender Craig Dawson.
The full-time boos that often accompany Everton defeats in recent years were muffled. Had Dyche still been in the dugout, they would have been much louder. It was the only thing Moyes has been able to change so far.