Everton vs. Newcastle United match report: Callum Wilson double dents Everton dreams
Richarlison and Dominic Cakvert-Lewin struggled to break past the Newcastle defence.
On a cold and windy afternoon in Merseyside, Everton had a vibrant start to the game as Yerry Mina was in the mood to test the Toons keeper Karl Darlow. The tactical switch to a back four by Newcastle somewhat caught Everton off guard as the Toffees were finding it difficult to break the press and produce something decisive in the final third.
Earlier in the game, Lucas Digne was a comfortable outlet for the Toffees, as Newcastle’s concise diamond midfield allowed the left back acres of space to exploit and produce something significant. Digne, often applauded for his delicious balls in the box and darting runs forward, didn’t achieve success this time around in finding the heads of Everton forwards, who were often surrounded by a horde of Newcastle players.
Wilson produced the first real chance for the visitors but his shot took a deflection and went over. However, the best opportunity for Newcastle in the opening half came in the 29th minute, when an unmarked Wilson hit a bullet header that was JUST fingertipped away by Jordan Pickford, perhaps, justifying why he needed to be trusted despite the gaffe last game.
A Dominic Calvert-Lewin backheel released Rodriguez who pulled the trigger to only find Darlow’s body and deny him a goal. Then came another well co-ordinated attack from Everton where Doucoure rounded the ball to Richarlison on the edge of the box but the Brazilian’s shot went wide. Oddly, this was one of the best attacking spells for the hosts in the entire game. Both the teams went into the halftime with a 0-0 scoreline.