Bournemouth 1-0 Everton: Match Recap & Instant Reaction | Zero shots on goal, zero points

The Vitality Stadium had been a desolate market where Everton had not been able to buy a thing recently. This year, the Cherries have been at their strongest yet and had already earned a series of impressive home wins before the Toffees rolled down the M6 today for the 262 mile journey from Liverpool.

Bournemouth had their season take off in that dramatic, ridiculous, horror show of a final 10 minutes at Goodison Park in August. After falling behind by two goals, the Cherries shocked the Evertonians with three goals starting in the 87th minute! The half full in me said that we would win today’s match by doing the exact same thing but I had my doubts.

Just one change for the Blues as Jesper Lindstrom replaced Jack Harrison. Armando Broja started for the second game in a row leaving DCL on the bench. Dwight McNeil was again absent and it was revealed that Youssef Chermiti missed out due to a thigh strain suffered in training.

For Bournemouth, Justin Kluivert was available again after a one game suspension and he is straight back into the starting XI. The other two changes saw Mark Travers starting in goal in place of Kepa while Dango Ouattara was also recalled.

Everton kicked off the match with the sound of the Evertonians in the stadium singing loud and proud. A crunching tackle from Jarrad Branthwaite on Evanilson and a yellow card inside the first 90 seconds would require him to walk the tightrope for the rest of the match.

Jesper Lindstrøm was having a bright start and was putting pressure on the Bournemouth back line in the early going. However, neither team was able to get a foothold in the match. That changed when Bournemouth had a long throw that was flicked on by Hujsen and it was only a great save from Pickford that denied Ouatarra.

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Some nice hold up play and then a drive down the wing by Broja needed more quality in the cross. It was then Lindstrøm trying an unlikely shot from 40 yards which went begging. Bournemouth had the ball in the back of the net when Semenyo met a Christie cross but the assistant referee was well placed to call the offside.

Some lovely ball control by Ndiaye forced a free kick but the resulting planned play did not work out. A driving run from Doucoure ended with a layoff to Broja and his foot took more of the ground and he required treatment. At the same time, Ndiaye needed some ice on his leg for another challenge in the buildup. Thankfully, both were able to continue.

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Bournemouth were starting to assert themselves and their first corner had a call for a foul on Dango by Mangala which was turned down but the followup shot from Evanilson was just wide. It was then another brilliant save by Pickford stopping Kluivert and then the followup from Semenyo.

Broja was down again, this time clutching his side. Some treatment was ineffective and it was Dyche who decided to cut his losses and bring on Calvert-Lewin. With ten minutes to go the Toffees were happy to slow down the game much to the chagrin of the home fans.

Photo by Robin Jones – AFC Bournemouth/AFC Bournemouth via Getty Images

It was then Lindstrøm who was struggling after kicking the ground on the edge of the box. He limped around for a few minutes but was clearly struggling. Everton had a few moments in the Bournemouth box but Ndiaye could not get a shot away. Five minutes of added time was announced as Kirkez crossed the ball but Semenyo could not beat Pickford with a weak header.

Idrissa Gueye then wrapped a lovely present for Bournemouth but the Cherries could not take advantage of a four on three. The pressure on Everton was mounting with Bournemouth pushing for a late goal and when Christie crossed the ball it was met by Hujsen but is header ended up on the top of the net.

The second half kicked off with Nathan Patterson and Harrison Armstrong coming on in place of Lindstrøm and Mangala. Bournemouth were out of the gate quickly and Pickford was called upon to make an incredible save from Semenyo once again. His strong left hand was incredible.

Everton had a good spell of possession but there were no shots on net at the end of it. The game was threatening to open up a bit when the play went end to end as Everton showed far more ambition. A nice tackle from Patterson on Evanilson prevented a breakaway which raised the voices of the travelling Evertonians.

Photo by Robin Jones – AFC Bournemouth/AFC Bournemouth via Getty Images

A nice move by Ashley Young forced a free kick on the edge of the box which was lined up by Young. He lobbed the ball into the six yard box and the quick counter attack was snuffed out by a lovely Branthwaite slide tackle on Semenyo. Moments later Pickford was at it again when he palmed the ball wide of his net when Ouatarra sent his shot goalward.

Bournemouth were asking for a penalty on Patterson but VAR backed the ref who did not see it as enough to give the spot kick. Areola needed something more and he turned to Brooks, Unai and Adams in place of Ouatarra, Kluivert and Hill.

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A driving run by Patterson saw him get through three Bournemouth players before he skied his shot into Row Z. Bournemouth seemed to be relying on the counter attack and when Pickford’s clearance was turned over, it was a diving Semenyo who headed the ball just wide.

The deadlock was broken when David Brooks took a cross from Kirkez and his volley gave no chance to Pickford although it could be argued that Branthwaite chose to duck instead of heading the ball clear.

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Bournemouth could smell blood and pushed on for a second. Dyche needed a goal so off went Gueye and on came Beto. Evanilson was withdrawn with ______ coming on to finish the match. Brooks had another chance but this time his volley went well wide. Beto then started to throw himself around the pitch with no obvious reason.

Everton did get the ball into the final third and when Doucoure lined up his volley there was just a sliver of hope but the shot went well wide. Bournemouth then decided to hold onto the ball and when Beto broke away, Tyler Adams took no chances and scythed down the big man and earned himself a yellow card.

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Three minutes of additional time arrived as Patterson threw the ball in and it immediately went out of play. Enough said….. Being down by one goal should have given some hope to the Evertonians in the crowd but it was obvious that there was no chance that the Blues were going to get any chance. The referee eventually put Everton out of their misery and blew his whistle.

Everton Man of the Match – Jordan Pickford – It has to be said that without the England number one, this team would be rooted to the bottom of the table. Today he made several saves to deny Semenyo and the score could easily have been four or five.

Sean Dyche continues to infuriate Evertonians in his post-match comments. With the team winning only 4 games for the entirety of 2024 there is being positive and then there is pulling the wool over your own eyes. Dyche is now in the second camp. When asked about his team’s ability to score he said, “We have been trying for two years to do that. It’s very difficult to find players who have that cutting edge and ones who can score a goal.” So has no impact on improving attacking play? Dyche needs some help in the transfer window or to see that he needs to change his approach to stop things getting worse before they get better. Or perhaps it is time to cut our losses and find someone who can coach.

One moment in the match summed up the day when Lindstrøm took the ball down the right side and had Ndiaye overlapping on the right. The Dane did not look that way but held up his hands asking for someone to support him in the middle. Lindstrøm passed the ball back to Gueye who then proceeded to lob the ball over the top to a wing that was empty and the ball rolled out of play. Pedantic, toothless and in the end a match where they were unable to record a single shot on net.

Unless there was an injury to Mangala I was perplexed by Dyche’s substitution when he dropped Doucoure into the holding role and brought on Harrison Armstrong. Bringing on the young, attacking midfielder made sense with more forward play needed, but to leave Doucoure on was ridiculous. That was perplexing but not as much as when Everton went down by a goal and Beto was brought on for Gueye. Doucoure remained on the pitch although I don’t remember him contributing in any way in the previous 80 minutes. His one attempt on goal late in the game was awful. Harrison Armstrong needs to start and Doucoure needs to go on holiday, preferably in the Far East!