Everton earned a hard-fought 0-0 draw against Newcastle United in the Premier League on Saturday afternoon at Goodison Park.
The Toffees will be the happier side of the two, and they head into the international break on a positive note after picking up four points from their last two games.
After a turbulent start to the season, they are now heading in the right direction under Sean Dyche. It appears that the Toffees boss is finally getting the best out of his players, and the squad will get better once other key players return from injuries.
There were some very good individual performances during the game, but one player stole the show – Jordan Pickford. He not only saved a penalty but also produced some quality saves to ensure Everton picked up something from this game.
Alan Shearer was heavily impressed by Jordan Pickford
In the first half, James Tarkowski made a rugby-like foul on Sandro Tonali, and the referee awarded a penalty.
Anthony Gordon, who has been superb with his spot-kicks recently, stepped up. Pickford emerged as the hero of the match as he jumped in the right direction and made the save.
While watching the footage on BBC Match of the Day, both Micah Richards and Alan Shearer were in agreement that it was the right decision to give a penalty. Shearer was impressed with Pickford’s save and said on the show – “Well done, Pickford.”
Pickford said after the game that he anticipated where Gordon might target to shoot.
The Toffees goalkeeper said, as quoted by BBC Sport: “It’s like trying to double bluff each other and I have got the better of him tonight. It was a big moment and I am pleased it helped us get the draw.
“To be fair, I watched the game last week and he reversed it against Ederson and I fancied him going keeper’s left.”
Plenty of strong performances from Everton v Newcastle United
Dyche will be pleased with the efforts of other individuals, and collectively Everton were really brilliant.
Despite the early mistake, Tarkowski redeemed himself by making a quality block to deny Tonali in the second half. Stephen Warnock was heavily impressed by the veteran defender and said that it was simply “unbelievable” defending.
The likes of James Garner, Ashley Young, Michael Keane, Idrissa Gueye and Iliman Ndiaye were also brilliant during the game.
Everton hope to get back Jarrad Branthwaite and Vitaly Mykolenko after the international break, while Seamus Coleman and Nathan Patterson aren’t far away from returning to the senior side after long injury lay-offs.
