A welcome double boost
Sean Dyche has had very little to smile about over the past week. After a 2-0 defeat to Aston Villa at Goodison Park on Saturday, the Blues were then thumped 4-0 by Arsenal.
Wednesday night’s defeat at the Emirates Stadium just further highlighted why Everton find themselves in the position they do. Dyche is facing a huge task to keep the Blues up.
Currently sitting inside the relegation zone, Everton have a huge six-pointer against Nottingham Forest at the weekend. But on Thursday night, Dyche could finally find reason to smile.
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That was because both Nathan Patterson and James Garner stepped up their return from injury by playing for the club’s under-21 side against PSV Eindhoven in the Premier League International Cup.
Neither completed the full 90 minutes, but both played long enough to allow Dyche to be optimistic that they can both play a part in his side's fight against relegation. Patterson played just over an hour, while Garner managed to get 84 minutes under his belt.
Both still have a long way to go before they are back up to full fitness, but the signs were certainly promising. Patterson hit the post in the first-half with a volley before dragging a shot wide in the opening stages of the second-half. On another night the Scotland international could have easily had a brace.
Garner, on the other hand, initially struggled to get into the game in the opening 45 minutes as a result of PSV’s pressing. But to the 21-year-old’s credit, he stuck at it and got better the more the game went on. A pass to release Ishe Samuels-Smith down the left in the second-half was proof of what he can offer the club’s first-team.
A welcome boost for Dyche after a torrid few days in which he saw the good, the bad and damn right ugly of Everton.
International Cup success
They say all good things must come to an end and unfortunately for Paul Tait and his Everton side, that is exactly what happened on Thursday night as their Premier League International Cup campaign was brought to a halt.
But one thing the Blues can be is proud of what they have achieved in this season’s competition. The tournament has been a real success for the club.
Tait’s side kicked off their campaign with a big 5-0 win over Braga before a 4-1 victory over Hertha Berlin followed. Then came the big one.
Despite failing behind through Ismael Gharbi’s strike, a Tom Cannon double, just a day after he made his first senior appearance for the club, secured Everton a 2-1 win over Paris Saint-Germain in front of a big crowd at Walton Hall Park.
Dinamo Zagreb were then dispatched last month to set up this quarter-final tie at Goodison Park. And although the result didn’t go the way of the Blues, Tait’s side can be proud of the fight they put up against the Dutch giants.
Everton’s first-team are enduring a torrid campaign, with relegation to the Championship a strong possibility. The same, however, can not be said about Tait’s side who continue to impress.
One to watch emerges
Unfortunately for Martin Sherif, he couldn’t quite continue his fine goalscoring run here.
Brought on with his side 2-0 down, the forward was hoping to continue his fine run of form in front of goal. He was on target during Everton’s Liverpool Senior Cup defeat to Marine on Tuesday night.
That goal at the Marine Travel Arena came just days after he rescued the club’s under-18 side a point against Nottingham Forest in the Premier League North.
And just moments after coming on against Adil Ramzi’s side here, he almost handed his side a lifeline, but he failed to connect properly with Samuels-Smith’s cross from the left.
Sherif, who joined Everton aged 13, would go close again before full-time. The forward appears to have that knack of being able to put himself in positions in which he can get chances.
Aged just 16, the teenager has a long way to go in his development, but the early signs certainly look promising and he is a player Everton supporters should be keeping an eye on.
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