If Everton are to make progress this season the Blues need to find a way of replacing Richarlison's goals. They may be on the verge of finding the solution.
Across an important 90 minutes for Frank Lampard's men both Dominic Calvert-Lewin and Dwight McNeil made significant contributions to ease the manager's concern about the "void" in forward options left by the departure of the Brazil striker.
The victory over Dynamo Kyiv was only a friendly and efforts to strengthen the front line will continue. But Everton's final game of pre-season offered hope and reassurance about fitness, form and potency with the new Premier League season now just days away.
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McNeil made an impact within minutes of his first game at Goodison Park since making the Grand Old Lady his home on Thursday. His first - and Everton's second - was a delightful finish from his left foot after he cut into the area. His second was a header from a cross that saw him emerge unmarked in front of the Gwladys Street.
Much has been made of McNeil's provision of just one assist and his failure to score for Burnley last season. In just 180 seconds of this match he offered a glimpse of the threat he could pose in Royal Blue.
The 22-year-old's cameo followed a promising display from Calvert-Lewin as he allayed fears over his fitness following his absence from the win over Blackpool. Concern over further injury trouble after his issues last season were heightened when he was left out of the trip to the seaside as a "precaution".
Calvert-Lewin will start the season with hopes of regaining his place in the England squad ahead of the World Cup, which starts in November. In order to do so he will need to find form quickly. As football returned to Goodison for the first time since that memorable comeback win over Crystal Palace in May, Calvert-Lewin backed up the confidence in his fitness revealed by the club's coaching staff while in the US as he scored the first goal at the ground since his thumping diving header secured Everton's place in the top flight.
He judged the flight of a ball over the top from James Tarkowski better than Kyiv's Ruslan Neshcheret and looped his header over the stranded goalkeeper.
In the opening 30 minutes he also powered a header just wide of goal from a Demarai Gray free-kick and then forced an acrobatic save from Neshcheret after getting on the end of captain-for-the-night Vitalii Mykolenko's cross. Mykolenko had been fed by a perfectly-timed Alex Iwobi through-ball with Iwobi and Abdoulaye Doucore, paired together in front of Everton's centre backs, repeatedly finding Mykolenko and Nathan Patterson in space down the flanks.
Calvert-Lewin also fed Gray on the edge of the Kyiv area after gathering a high ball and twice broke from his own box after helping to defend set pieces.
With McNeil's brace following the two goals scored by Dele Alli at Bloomfield Road on Sunday there are signs he could be supported by goals from elsewhere on the pitch. But there is still pressure on Calvert-Lewin's shoulders and, in the absence of new signings,
Everton need him to be prolific in this campaign. While it would be naive to read too much from his hour-long performance, the display offered much-needed reassurance over his fitness - and a reminder of his goalscoring threat.
The "match for peace" was about far more than football - which was clear throughout and no more so than in the words of Ihor Surkis, Dynamo Kyiv's president. He told the ECHO: "This match is very important for us just to show that Dynamo Kyiv is alive. We as a team are here ready to play even in these very difficult circumstances. We are here, the team plays, and as our fighters, our soldiers our warriors, fight on the front line to defend our nation it is important for all of us - the players, the coaches. It is really great we can be here and play football to at least bring some joy to those people who can watch and who can enjoy the match in these extremely difficult circumstances when our warriors have to defend our land and our nation."
This was an occasion on which the scoreline did not matter. The prominence of Ukraine flags and the messages of support as the country continues to fight the Russian invasion far outweigh events in the world of football. But Lampard and his staff - as well as the home supporters - have ended pre-season with positives on the pitch while supporting a poignant cause off it.
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