Thanks for joining me.
Your main man Andy Hunter was at Goodison Park. Here is his report.
Sean Dyche speaks …
On Keane: “He’s been in fine form. On the training pitch, he’s been training with clarity and showed his quality.”
On the match: “I think the whole stadium thought we would get a winner. I know I did.
“It is another step in the right direction. It is only a point but is a meaningful point. The mentality is going from strength to strength.”
On Goodison and the fans: “It’s been fantastic. The energy the fans are giving the team is just fantastic. It means a lot to players. The players are wearing the shirt with pride.”
On the Doucoure card: “The whistle has gone, I don’t think the challenge needs to be made. It started a moment that didn’t need to occur. You cannot raise hands, we know that.”
Young Everton fan Harry Garside presents Keane with his player of the match award.
Michael Keane speaks …
On the goal: “I am buzzing. You won’t believe but I do hit the ball like that every now and again in training. To see one come off is amazing. After giving away the penalty to make up for it, I am buzzing.
“I saw a space open up in the middle of the pitch. I didn’t feel it come off my foot, I hit it so sweetly. I was in shock. It was swerving away from Lloris, so I knew it had a chance.”
On the penalty: “I didn’t see him coming around the corner and I knew it was straight away was a penalty.”
The Moura foul: “It was a red card. It was sore and I think it could have been worse.”
On the point: “At this stage of the season every point is massive. I hope it is important. We are disappointed we have not won. We are heading in the right direction.”
Conte says Spurs do not want to play under stress. To be fair, they should have been quite relaxed at 1-0 up against 10 men but instead they did some almighty bottling of the situation. Their game management was awful and the desire to pass it around at the back was mindblowing.
Based on those I follow on Twitter, everyone thinks Tottenham were complete and utter shit. I fully agree.
The point moves Everton all the way up to 15th but they have played a game more than the four teams below them, who would all go above them if they win said match in hand.
Spurs are in fourth.
It was a really entertaining game. Two red cards, a penalty and dramatic equaliser from an unlikely source. Wonderful.
What a goal it was from Keane.
MICHAEL KEANE WHAT A STRIKE THAT IS! 🔥🚀 pic.twitter.com/BKfO8tFuXT
— Sky Sports Premier League (@SkySportsPL) April 3, 2023
Everything seems pretty civilised on the pitch. Kane and Coleman are having a few words but seems to be more of an explanation of the sending off from the striker.
Full time! Everton 1-1 Tottenham
There is no arguing that the game was packed full of entertainment and incident. Tottenham really should have seen things through after taking the lead against 10 men but instead dropped off and had a player of their own sent off. A point could be crucial for Everton in the end.
90+5 mins: Spurs are still passing it around at the back. The away end must be furious because it is not working. It leads to another cross into the box but Spurs manage to clear.
90+4 mins: Pickford lumps a free-kick from the Everton half towards the Spurs box. Tarkowski wins the header and the ball comes back to him to swipe a shot at goal. It looks destined for the back of the net but whacks Dier in the chest.
Barry Horne lives! @Will_Unwin
— Gary Naylor (@garynaylor999) April 3, 2023
90+2 mins: Spurs have set their own downfall on every level. They have allowed Everton to play and then Moura equalled things up. I am not sure Stellini is going to get this job long term.
90 mins: The centre-back, who gave away the penalty, takes a couple of touches and fires a shot from 30 yards and it pings into the top corner. Lloris does not move. Incredible from Keane.
Six minutes added on.
GOAL! Everton 1-1 Tottenham (Keane, 90)
WHAT A GOAL!
Updated
88 mins: RED CARD! Lucas Moura
The Brazilian lunges in on Keane. What a dreadful challenge, catching the defender above the ankle. Luckily Keane gets up.
Updated
86 mins: The 11 men of Spurs are holding on. They have been awful since scoring – quite a feat. Sanchez is the latest to cause Spurs problems by fouling Garner.
The midfielder takes the subsequent free-kick from 30 yards. The former Manchester United man but it defeats everyone and goes out for a goal-kick.
84 mins: Garner and Davies on for Onana and Gueye. Everton will have some very fresh legs in midfielder for the final 10 minutes.
82 mins: Despite having the extra man, Spurs are letting Everton have the ball. It is really odd. I think Stellini needs to change tact.
Moura is on for Son.
80 mins: Romero is booked for a lunge on Onana. Spurs really just need to keep 11 players on the pitch and stopped passing it around at the back like idiots.
Mykolenko pings a cross into Porro. The players and fans go up for handball but the officials are not having it.
78 mins: Sanchez replaces Lenglet for Spurs.
“If Everton lose today (and we are, unfortunately for me, almost there) we can pack our bags and accept that in the next season we will play in the Championship. Do we have any chance to come back to the Premier immediately or do you see us struggle in the second tier of the English football?” asks Bogdan Kotarlic.
It will be an interesting few months for Everton, that is for sure. There is a lot riding on Premier League survival.
76 mins: More crap passing at the back from Spurs allows another chance for Everton. Gray lays it off to Gueye, whose shot from 20 yards is tipped over by Lloris.
The resulting corner reaches Keane at the back post but he heads straight at Lloris. Skipp ends up on the deck.
Coleman and Gray off, Mykolenko and Simms on.
74 mins: Spurs have the lead but seem desperate to give it away with some of the thickest passing in their own box, you will ever seen. Lloris puts Romero is the brown stuff but the Argentinian seems desperate to make the situation worse by taking a few touches. Everton win the ball and Iwobi has a shot but Lloris is behind.
Simms is primed to come on.
72 mins: Everton have a free-kick in the Spurs half. A set-piece is their best way back in. This one, however, comes to nothing.
70 mins: Do Everton have anything to offer to get back into this match? You would expect Simms to come on soon.
“I’d pay good money to know what Seamus Coleman said to Harry Kane while he was on the deck,” says Matthew Lysaght.
'Harry, I want to wish you the best with the arrival of your fourth child’?
GOAL! Everton 0-1 Tottenham (Kane, pen, 68)
The England captain gets the better of the England goalkeeper.
Updated
66 mins: PENALTY TO SPURS! Keane trips Romero in the box after a Perisic knock down.
Updated
65 mins: Everton cannot get out. Spurs will keep coming at them. Kane is booed whenever he touches the ball now. Goodison seems a touch nervous.
Alix Sharkey emails: “On my 30 min lunch break when a Guardian alert flashes up: “Tottenham 0-0 Everton RED CARD!”
So of course I spit out my kombucha and curse Romero.”
Drink that kombucha off the floor.
64 mins: Expect every man behind the ball for Everton now. Everyone in blue will know their job, that’s for sure.
Coote books Lenglet for trying to pull down Iwobi. The Nigerian stays on his feet but lashes his shot well wide.
Samuel Campbell emails: “I get that raising your hands is going to be a red but their really needs to be punishment for Kane going down like that. Absolutely embarrassing acting like he’s been punched by Mike Tyson. Footballers are an absolute disgrace.”
It’s not great to watch but what do you expect is going to happen in a Premier League match?
62 mins: Spurs have the upper hand now. Can they make the most of it?
“Greetings from California,” says Mary Waltz. “Busy morning got back to see it’s nil-nil at half. Actuary tables give me 10 to 20 more years on this mortal coil. Is this enough time to see my Everton get relegated, promoted back up or get a proper striker? Sigh.”
60 mins: Elite levels of stupidity from Doucoure. Dyche seems unhappy with something other than his player. Kane, who has been booked, made the most of it but you cannot hit people in the face.
59 mins: RED CARD! Abdoulaye Doucouré
What has Doucoure done?! He lashes out at Kane for some reason or other and is quickly sent off. Dyche is fuming.
Updated
57 mins: Onana catches Porro in the face, resulting in the Spaniard having a moan and roll.
Doucoure wins Everton a corner on the right. McNeil comes over to take it but Spurs clear.
“I felt asleep watching two of Tottenham’s most important games and Spurs went out both times,” says Yash Gupta. “How about that!”
55 mins: Dyche has moved Doucoure further up the pitch, possibly to put pressure on the Spurs defence who are messing around when in possession.
Pressure?
I understand that scoring goals is the most difficult part of the game, but why do so many professionals fail even to hit the target @Will_Unwin?
— Gary Naylor (@garynaylor999) April 3, 2023
53 mins: Gray works the ball back to Onana to take a shot but there is absolutely no power in his effort and Lloris drops on the ball.
Romero gifts the ball to Gueye but the midfielder dallies on the ball, possibly burnt by his most recent shot that went over, and Spurs recover.
51 mins: Perisic sends in a corner but it is easily cleared. Do not worry, the ball reaches Porro 20 yards from goal but he takes a woeful shot that lands in the stands.
Plenty of subs seem to be warming up because both teams could do with something a little different.
49 mins: Spurs look to work an opening but the best they can produce is a hopeful cross that Keane volleys clear.
47 mins: Spurs try to play out from the back and fail miserably. Dier is dispossessed by Onana, Gueye picks up the loose pass but whacks his shot well over from 20 yards.
I should also say, I have done two Everton matches this season and they won both of those 1-0. Hmmmm …
Ettiene Terblanche emails: “Chelsea mess and gargantuan spending. Wasn’t this the Man Utd refrain not so long ago? Or Spurs? Modern football, eh? We’ve learnt nothing from our brief moment of clarity during Covid. We are doomed.”
Second half
Here we go again!
I’ve been to two of Stellini’s caretaker games this season. They lost both 1-0 and you can see it being the same here.
Fill your boots at half time with Jacob Steinberg on Chelsea.
Half time: Everton 0-0 Tottenham
What Everton would do for a proper striker. They have been the better team but have rarely troubled the returning Lloris. Spurs have played in phases but are putting the hard yards in, at least.
45+2 mins: Iwobi takes the ball down with a wonderful touch on the right wing but then pings a cross into the feet of a defender.
45 mins: Three minutes added on.
44 mins: Kulusevski drives forward and slips a pass through for Son, he takes a touch shoots straight at Pickford who stops the ball with his feet. Naturally, the flag then goes up.
Updated
42 mins: McNeil sends in another dangerous cross but a Spurs head is there to clear. As previously mentioned, Everton really do not have much of a presence in the box.
Coleman goes down in the area after running into Dier, he gives the referee a hopeful look but David Coote rightly shakes his head.
40 mins: Perisic is on the deck holding his right ankle or thereabouts. Tarkowski is also down with what looks like a knee issue.
Perisic’s issue stems from Coleman catching the Croatian with his studs.
Tarkowski looks like he might have jarred his knee when challenging Dier, but I am not a doctor.
38 mins: Gray gets the ball just outside the Spurs box, he tries to go round the defender but is tackled.
Onana goes for the more direct approach but his daisy-cutter is easily held by Lloris.
36 mins: Spurs have a little spell in the final third but Everton defend in numbers. The best Spurs can muster is a Kane cross that is easily cleared.
34 mins: “Which team is Spurs playing and whose managing them?” asks Yash Gupta. “Doesn’t look like relegation battling Everton side managed by Sean Dyche.”
Dyche 2.0.
32 mins: The Spurs players look like they are haunted by Conte’s words. After a positive start, they are looking quite static.
30 mins: Simms is watching from the bench. I suspect he will be called for if things stay the same.
Where Everton are dangerous is set-pieces. They get another in a good position on the left after Romero kicks Gray to the ground for no reasons. McNeil swings it in but it goes past everyone. Iwobi sends it back from the right wing, finding an unmarked Doucoure but he gets under the ball and loops a header well over.
28 mins: Everton are very much on top at the moment but really lack a threat in the box. Gray needs some support in there when crosses go in because he is never going to win one in the air.
26 mins: That little spell of attacking has buoyed Everton and the Goodison faithful. All they need to do now is score.
We are having a little break in play for those players observing Ramadan so they can have a drink and bite to eat.
I remain disappointed that this game hasn't been classified as a "Battle of the Bastards"
— ham solo (@ham____solo) April 3, 2023
24 mins: Everton lump a free-kick into the box, the ball is headed back across goal and Lloris makes a couple of attempts to claim, the second ended by a defender whacking it out of his hands.
Gray brings the ball back into the box, he chops back and goes down but there is no suggestion of a foul.
Another chance for Everton … Onana lays the ball into the path of Godfrey who shoots first time but Dier’s head is in the way.
22 mins: Another great cross from Perisic with his right foot; he curls it to the back post where Porro is aiming to tap in but McNeil is there to hook away just in time.
Updated
20 mins: Both teams are playing pretty well. I would argue Everton are edging it at the moment.
Pickford looks to start an attack with a quick kick out but he whacks the ball straight out of play.
18 mins: Iwobi bursts into the box but he cannot find anyone to pull the ball back to. Everton really could do with a proper striker in there to be in the right place for those opportunities.
16 mins: A second sight of goal for Kane. A cross-field pass finds Perisic on the left, he lines up the cross for the striker but he flicks his header wide from eight yards.
14 mins: Son gets into the box with the ball at his feet but sends it behind for a goal-kick thanks to some poorly-executed trickery, much to the amusement of the home fans.
12 mins: After a hectic few minutes, Spurs try to take the sting out of the. game by passing it around the back.
10 mins: Both teams are keen to attack and look dangerous in the final third. I would back there to be a few goals here. Cue a 0-0.
We almost get a goal. Skipp drives Spurs forward until being crunched on the edge of the box. There is a bit of pinball until it reaches Kane’s feet - he shoots, only to see Keane clear off the line.
Down the other end … Everton drives a free-kick into the box where it Keane is waiting, he chests it down and volleys but his effort is always rising.
8 mins: Ermmmmm … Perisic controls a pass at knee height and then whacks a volley from about 40 yards with his weaker right and it goes absolutely nowhere near the net. We can file that as ‘optimistic’.
6 mins: Spurs get their first glimpse of a chance when Porro gets in behind the Everton defence but his cross is a poor one and Pickford intercepts with his feet before a blue shirt whacks clear. Kane is not happy with the quality of crossing.
4 mins: Everton are looking to play with intensity and test Spurs’ desire in the process.
2 mins: Godfrey almost gouges Kulusevski’s eyeball in a challenge to give Spurs a free-kick.
Everton get the first chance of the match thanks to great work from Iwobi, who plays the ball to Gray on the edge of the box but his curling shot goes just over.
Updated
Kick-off
Peep! Peep! Peep! Here we go!
The teams are in the tunnel …
Cristian Stellini speaks …
“I feel [I am] in an important position with a lot of responsibility. I must fly solo and for sure it is not easy but I have a lot of things I learned in the long period I worked with Antonio. We are ready for the next 10 matches.
“Nothing changes with what the team has to do. We have to start well and be consistent.”
A lovely night on Merseyside.
Tonight's setting. #EVETOT pic.twitter.com/ieGmK6daMD
— Everton (@Everton) April 3, 2023
Everton are set for a tumultuous few months regardless of whether they stay up or not.
There is no Calvert-Lewin in the Everton squad. They are lacking a consistent goalscorer this season and it could cause their ultimate demise. They really need him back fit soon.
It was a busy day of Premier League sackings yesterday. Read Football Daily for more!
Bill Preston emails: “I’m usually rather bullish about Everton’s ability to weather storms, but what with everything going on it’ll take more than thrilling heroics in the pitch and getting a stomp on past their relegation rivals.
“The new stadium does look great, appears to be going up quickly, and would be a great new start for the club wherever they end up.
“Have a good one!”
The new stadium is, according to Guardian analysis, three months behind schedule.
Harry Kane speaks …
On Conte’s exit: “That’s football. I wish Antonio all the best. It is about moving on now. It is about starting tonight with an important three points.”
On Conte’s comments about the squad: “He had his opinions on the matter and it was an emotional moment after a disappointing end to that game. We are focused on getting into the top four, we can’t focus on the past.”
On actual football: “This league is really tight, especially for third, fourth, fifth. We have had an OK season but we know we can improve.”
Sean Dyche speaks …
On an unchanged team: “I think they operated well. I liked what I saw there [at Chelsea] and we are working hard as a group.
On state of play: “I thought the mentality was very good, the fans have been excellent.
“I think the feel of the stadium, the way the fans have got behind the team. The fans have been terrific. The team have got to be ready at the first whistle.
“The players are putting a lot of effort into the training sessions and matches.
“The league table is what it is, I am more focused on sorting what we do. We want to build on what we have been doing.”
Hugo Lloris returns to the lineup for Spurs following injury. One of the few positive for Spurs in recent weeks has been the form of Fraser Forster, earning him a call-up to the England squad.
Starting lineups
Everton (4-3-3): Pickford; Coleman, Tarkowski, Keane, Godfrey; Gueye, Onana, Doucoure; Iwobi, McNeil, Gray
Subs: Begovic, Holgate, Mina, Mykolenko, Maupay, Davies, Coady, Garner, Simms
Tottenham (3-4-3): Lloris; Romero, Dier, Lenglet; Porro, Hojbjerg, Skipp, Perisic; Kulusevski, Kane, Son
Subs: Forster, Austin, Tanganga, Sanchez, Sarr, Devine, Mundle, Lucas, Danjuma
Preamble
I am not saying things are looking bad at Everton but they are back in the relegation zone at kick-off following victories for Bournemouth and West Ham this weekend, while their accounts show their survival as a club will be in doubt if they drop down to the Championship.
The good news is that they come into the match against Spurs having not lost in their past three games, picking up five points in the process. The international break may have hampered their momentum slightly, especially after the buoyant feeling provided by Ellis Simms’ late equaliser at Stamford Bridge last time out.
They come up against another crisis club in Spurs, who are about to enjoy their first game of the post-Antonio Conte era. His time in north London seemed to be one grinding existence of moans about the state of the club without realising that he had something to do with it, even if he was right about most of it.
Cristian Stellini is the man in charge for now. He has already managed a few games this season due to Conte’s absence following surgery. Can he be the man to kickstart their season? We shall find out tonight.
Here’s to a cracker!
Kick-off: 8pm BST
