A round-up of how the national media reported on Everton’s goalless draw against 10-man Brentford
Everton supporters were left frustrated with boos at the final whistle after they failed to break down a Brentford side reduced to 10 men for over half the match in Saturday’s goalless draw at Goodison Park. Although the result ensures the Blues have only lost one of their last eight games, there is a sense that they should have more points by now as they head into a tough-looking December period with just one home win all season to date.
And here is a round-up of how the national media reported on the action…
The Guardian’s Andy Hunter wrote: “Trouble is at Sean Dyche’s door just as the Friedkin Group waits to walk in as Everton’s new owner. The manager was left in no doubt as to the growing discontent inside Goodison Park after Brentford claimed their first away point of the season despite playing with 10 men for 53 minutes.
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“They did so in relative comfort, which says everything about the paucity of Everton’s attacking game. Brentford’s captain, Christian Norgaard, was shown a red card in the 41st minute for catching Jordan Pickford’s knee with his studs. Thomas Frank confirmed his club will likely appeal against the decision. The Brentford manager was incensed at the time but a first Premier League clean sheet of the season, and in these circumstances, lifted his mood.
“Goodison’s darkened in step with an increasingly clueless display from an Everton team that performed better against 11 men. It is now five draws in eight league games for them and no goals in three outings. An ominous December – which includes games against all of the top four, Ruben Amorim’s first home league game as Manchester United manager, a revitalised Wolves and Nottingham Forest – awaits.
“Brentford had 16 points before kick-off – all won at the Gtech Stadium. Their impressive home form was in stark contrast to results on the road and Frank’s team were immediately on the back foot. Everton had enough pressure and openings to have capitalised before the break. Not for the first time in Dyche’s reign, a lack of ruthlessness and quality in the final third prevented them from doing so. Mark Flekken in the Brentford goal proved another obstacle.
“Everton’s continuing search for a killer touch left Goodison with a familiar sense of foreboding. Brentford looked to take advantage and Pickford made an important block to prevent Yoane Wissa scoring from Mikkel Damsgaard’s fine through ball.
“Everton toiled against the 10 men and were almost punished on the counterattack by Keane Lewis-Potter. Pickford saved his low shot and Mathias Jensen was unable to convert the loose ball from 18 yards out. Vitalii Mykolenko should have broken the deadlock but skied over from Ndiaye’s pass. Beto, on as a late rescue act substitute again, might have won it in stoppage time but for a vital block by Pinnock.
“Brentford were soon celebrating a deserved point in front of their jubilant fans. Boos rained down elsewhere.”
The Daily Telegraph’s Chris Bascombe wrote: “There are only 13 Premier League games left at Goodison Park. Sean Dyche remains none the wiser as to whether he will be in charge when the club relocates.
“Failure to defeat a Brentford side reduced to 10 men for 49 minutes does nothing to help his cause, the brief jeers at full-time more in frustration at another stalemate than full protest, but typifying another anxious Merseyside afternoon. The panic here – and it was tangible even during the home side’s better moments in a game they should have won – is due to a sense of foreboding as much as malcontent at Everton’s predicament.
“Everton’s next seven fixtures include meetings with Manchester United, Liverpool, Arsenal, Chelsea and Manchester City. Their fifth draw in eight games, the last three without a goal, have made the natives fretful.
“This was a wasted opportunity. Six minutes of the first half were left when Christian Norgaard challenged Jordan Pickford in what, at first glance, looked like an innocuous attempt to connect with the ball at the far post.
“A slow-motion replay later and Norgaard’s studs had clearly caught the England number on his knee, the freezeframe looking more damning with every review. Depending on allegiance, VAR was compelled to urge referee Chris Kavanagh to have another look. On doing so, the red card was produced two minutes later. Thomas Frank was booked in the aftermath.
“For Everton, the pressure intensified to get a result. Dyche’s side had started well, five goal attempts in the first six minutes typifying their sharpness. Iliman Ndiaye, the winger who when on form looks like he trained at Hogwarts, was a potential match-winner. Unfortunately for him, the longer the first half progressed, the less he saw of the ball.
“Norgaard’s dismissal eradicated any excuses for not utilising attacking power and Dyche made a tweak in the second half, moving Ndiaye into a number 10 role. Vitalii Mykolenko and Beto came closest to a winner, but Brentford’s defence was resolute for their first away point of the season.”
The Daily Mail’s Joe Bernstein wrote: “Even against 10 men, Everton became the first team to present Brentford with a clean sheet this season. Sean Dyche’s side, the Premier League’s lowest scorers bar Southampton, haven’t registered in three games and despite Christian Norgaard’s controversial dismissal after 41 minutes, the scoreline and subsequent jeers around Goodison were no surprise.
“The home side worked hard with 27 goal attempts, though only five were on target. But they never capitalised on having an extra player and their situation only three points above the relegation zone is ominous given December fixtures include Manchester City, Liverpool, Arsenal and Chelsea.
“The irony is Everton started brightly with Bees Mark Flekken saving from Idrissa Gueye and Dominic Calvert-Lewin, while Iliman Ndiaye looked lively. What should have been a game-changer shortly before half-time didn’t turn out that way. Brentford skipper Christian Norgaard stretched to reach a knockdown and his sliding leg caught Jordan Pickford high on the knee.
“A second half onslaught never materialised. Instead, Brentford had the better chances, Pickford saving from Keane Lewis-Potter to add to his earlier stop from Yoane Wissa. The Londoners had lost all their other away games this season but a trip to Goodison can remedy such runs.
“Vitalii Mykolenko hooked a good chance over the bar and Beto had an effort blocked by Ethan Pinnock in injury-time. The negative response from the local Bluenoses at the final whistle was predictable.”
The Independent’s Carl Markham wrote: “Brentford head coach Thomas Frank was left fuming at Christian Norgaard’s red card as Everton failed to take advantage of playing against 10 men for almost an hour in a goalless draw at Goodison Park. The red card did nothing for the game as goal-shy Everton, struggling to make a breakthrough against a team which at least had some attacking intent, found 10 men even harder to find a way past.
“Despite being 15th the Toffees are the third-lowest scorers in the league with 10, with three teams below them in the table managing more goals and this was another example of why. The hosts reeled off six shots in the first 10 minutes and continued to prevail in the attacking statistics but never seemed to pose a serious threat.
“In the circumstances it was a match they had to win as a foreboding December sees them face all of the current top five and Manchester United, although the return to fitness of Jarrad Branthwaite will help next month. Everton’s shooting radar did not get much better after the break with Gueye’s attempt from distance tipped over, Vitalii Mykolenko ballooning into the Gwladys Street End with his weaker right foot and, right at the death, substitute Beto having a close-range effort blocked.
“Brentford comfortably held on for their first away point of the season and their first clean sheet of the campaign. But while Everton have now lost just once in eight league matches – a spell which has brought all 11 points – they have scored only six times in that period and failed to find the net in the last three games.
“The fans’ negative reaction at the final whistle, aware of the fixtures to come, point to a long, hard winter for Sean Dyche’s side.”
And the ECHO’s Joe Thomas wrote: “Everton are in danger of sleepwalking into a crisis. After a difficult start to the season expectations quickly lowered to staying out of trouble. Everyone can see there is a real chance of a brighter future.
“The stunning new waterfront stadium the Blues will call home next year is tangible proof of that. The prospective takeover by The Friedkin Group offers hope the stability needed to push for success might come even sooner. But they still need to get there. And they are making a mess of it.
“Sometimes attack is the best form of defence. A club that can do little but tread water as it attempts to navigate the final part of an exhausting journey through the chaos of recent years could do well to learn from the Brentford team that came to Goodison without a point on the road and ended this match celebrating an unlikely draw after an hour spent with 10 men.”
