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Liverpool Echo
Liverpool Echo
Sport
Joe Thomas

Rare Seamus Coleman moment sums up Everton misery as injury problems mount up

There was a point in the second half at Bournemouth when Seamus Coleman, on his knees in front of the away end, thumped the pitch in frustration.

His beloved Everton were behind, another attack had broken down and his frustration was clear. It was one of those sights that highlighted how fraught the side's position was.

The Blues were losing a game they could ill-afford to - one that would dictate the narrative of the six-week World Cup break. And yet again, they were struggling to land a blow on their opponents. Coleman's hurt was obvious and it had been even before he got onto the pitch - the club captain arguing with Cherries manager Gary O'Neill in the aftermath of the second goal, during which Vitalii Mykolenko was injured, bringing Coleman into the action. Beyond the annoyance of one of Everton's leaders, here are some other moments and key features that may have been missed amid the initial reaction.

READ MORE: Frank Lampard faced with worst possible Everton question after week from hell

READ MORE: Everton analysis - Fans make Frank Lampard point as blunt Jordan Pickford message sent

Miserable run against promoted sides continues

The failure to beat Bournemouth meant Everton extended their winless run against newly-promoted sides to eight games in the Premier League. This season they have lost to Bournemouth, drawn at Fulham and drawn at home to Nottingham Forest.

Last season there were difficult and at times humiliating defeats to Watford and Norwich as well as the frenetic 3-2 loss to Brentford at Goodison Park when a win would have guaranteed survival in the top flight. It is a run Everton have to address when the domestic season returns after the World Cup. Their next chance will be a trip to Forest scheduled for March.

Tom Cannon makes Premier League debut

It has been some week for some Tom Cannon. He was introduced off the bench for his senior debut in the Carabao Cup tie at Bournemouth on Tuesday, returned to Merseyside to score a brace for the Under-21s against Paris Saint-Germain on Wednesday and then was back on the south coast on Saturday.

Cannon made his Premier League debut when he came on with 15 minutes to go and had an immediate impact, his header from an Anthony Gordon cross Everton's first shot on target in the second half. After the match, he wrote on social media: "Despite the result, it was a proud moment making my Premier League debut today." It is a shame his first senior minutes came in the circumstances they did but the milestones reached in this young talent's career this week should not be overlooked.

Stalwarts pick up knocks that sums up Everton's bad day

All of a sudden Everton have a lot of injuries again. There was no Mason Holgate in the matchday squad, he suffered a knee issue on his return from injury in midweek. There was no James Garner, left out due to what the club described as a "knock". It has since emerged Anthony Gordon had been nursing a broken hand for a number of days while Amadou Onana and Idrissa Gueye were only available after winning fitness battles against ankle and quad injuries, respectively.

In the opening 25 minutes, two players who rarely suffer injury were stricken in a sign of just how bad a day at the office this trip to Bournemouth was. The most obvious one was Mykolenko, who left the pitch after being injured in the carnage of the second goal. He was clutching the area around his collar bone and went straight down the tunnel.

Before he was hurt challenging Kieffer Moore, James Tarkowski was already down and holding his head - sparking Everton anger that play was not stopped in the build up. As soon as the goal was scored there was immediate concern for the players with medical staff rushing to the goal mouth and a stretcher initially carried to the scene, though it was ultimately not needed.

Tarkowski played on but for those at the Vitality Stadium it was clear he had already been struggling with an injury picked up in the early minutes and which caused him to limp as he fought to overcome it. Tarkowski is rarely injured - he has played 30 or more league games in each of the last five campaigns. The sight of him struggling, and Mykolenko being forced off, summed up Everton's luck as the first part of the season came to an end.

Everton supporters got behind the team despite recent disappointments

Much of the focus in the aftermath of the result has been on the scenes at the end of the match as a section of the away support showed their unhappiness at the performance and result. Lampard later said those fans who were unhappy had every right to be displeased and that he understood the emotion on display.

One thing that was clear was that, from the start, the travelling Blues were behind their side. There was no hangover from Tuesday - the away end was full again and it was notable how their voices could be heard in the early stages of the match as they attempted to spark a better display than many they have seen on the road this season. By the end of the match the situation was more complex but even amid the scenes of frustration, there were clear chants for Alex Iwobi during what Lampard later summed up as a "misunderstanding".

Everton's creative struggles continue

Everton mustered just three shots on target at Bournemouth - as many shots as their opponents had goals. It was a familiar tale in front of goal.

The first was a comfortable save for Mark Travers as Iwobi attempted to curl in from the edge of the box after a nice first half move. The next did not come until Cannon's late introduction with the game already lost. Meanwhile, Bournemouth created several good chances, having three opportunities to go 3-0 up before they eventually did. The reality was that, as in several recent games, Everton were less threatening than their opposition even when they were desperate for goals.

There is some context for that - chasing the game will always involve risk. But after the positive signs of resilience when they came from behind to beat Southampton, this Everton side has found it difficult to impact games they go behind in and that is something that will need to be worked on in the coming weeks.

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