Conor Coady has detailed the training ground set-piece work that contributed to his first Everton goal in the 2-1 win at Southampton.
The 29-year-old opened his Toffees account at St Mary's on Saturday, tapping home from close-range after Amadou Onana's knocked-down header from a deep free-kick. Coady's equaliser came three minutes after Joe Aribo opened the scoring for the home side and just two minutes before Dwight McNeil smashed home for the eventual winner.
Seeing his finish allowed to stand will bring welcome relief for Coady, with the on-loan centre-back seeing a dream goal in the Merseyside derby against Liverpool chalked off for offside not long ago. That disallowed goal - much like the equaliser against the Saints- came from the second phase of a set-play, and Coady has since revealed that is something they've been working hard on behind the scenes.
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"First half we played really well but lacked a bit of a ruthless edge in the final third," Coady told BBC Sport. "I thought we deserved the three points as we were fantastic bar that little spell. It’s another win to build on."
"My eyes lit up a little bit at the back post when I saw it pop down. It was important we got it and that we bounced back pretty quickly from going behind. We work a lot on second-phase set-pieces, trying to make sure we do them right, so it’s pleasing when something like that comes off for us."
Frank Lampard's side were able to hold on for a second consecutive win and seventh unbeaten match, thanks in part to another outstanding performance between the posts from Jordan Pickford. The Blues goalkeeper only missed one game through injury - due to postponements and the international break - but Coady has underlined just how important his return to the defensive unit was today.
He said of his England colleague: "He’s top-drawer, I’ve spoken about him a million times even before I’ve come to the club, about how incredible a keeper is. When we lose him, he’s a massive miss – when Asmir Begovic came in he did fantastic but you saw what Jordan brought today, he’s an outstanding keeper and long may that continue for us."
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