Four On The Bounce

What a way to finish the week. I might sound a little bit arrogant when I say this but, truthfully I was always confident we would get a good result against Burnley. The team's confidence is high and they're playing really well in tough circumstances and it was only made tougher with the late injury to Vitaly Mykolenko, necessitating a last minute reshuffle which saw Everton use more 5-4-1 formation with Patterson and McNeil playing as wing-backs. This adjustment worked incredibly well to limit Burnley to half chances at best and Pickford wasn't really troubled by a lot in with only two shots on target for the home side from fourteen.

The three former Burnley boys did the business for Everton tonight, with McNeil creating plenty from his slightly deeper position, Tarkowski and Keane only ever looked shaky on a couple of occasions, Godfrey's pace proving pivotal in digging them out of trouble when Burnley did get in behind to steal the ball off the toe of an onrushing Amdouni. Michael Keane in particular will have silenced a few of his detractors with his performance, towering over everybody any time a aerial ball needed clearing and showed a killer finishing instinct at the other end getting himself on the scoresheet with a well placed shot to double the Toffees' lead. Keane nearly got himself a second on the second half when in a mad scramble he looked to turn the ball around the post from close range but it was blocked on the line. I think he deserved his Man of the Match award.

Amadou Onana got the first goal and seemed imperious in midfield and a threat at every set-piece, it is great to see the big man back on the pitch and playing so well. Burnley's goalkeeper James Trafford did not look comfortable at set-pieces and flapped at a few corners; his distribution looks decent for Vincent Kompany's style of play though.

Special mention must go to Jack Harrison who looked like he was never going to run out of energy for the ninety minutes. He ran and chased pretty much everything and made life difficult for the Burnley defence. I particularly loved his little flick to Patterson to set up the chance for Dominic Calvert-Lewin in the first half which, had it been just a few inches further towards the corner of the goal, would have put Everton in the lead a minute before they actual did. Speaking of Calvert-Lewin, I thought he had quite a good game as well and his hold up play came in to good use once again, he was a threat at all times and his movement and pressing off the ball suffocated Burnley somewhat, in connection with Harrison, Garner and, especially in the first half, Doucoure chasing with him as well. It's another game without a goal though, but I'm not worried about him either, as long as he's involved and there are others around him picking up the pieces.

Beto's introduction in the second half gave Everton a welcome fresh look as the big Portuguese continued DCL's work ploughing the forward furrow and he very nearly caught Trafford out as he chased a pass back, as the young goalkeeper slipped. Unfortunately for Beto the ball bounced in Trafford's favour and the defenders were able to clear in the end.

I also have to mention the away support again which was incredible to witness, after Burnley Football Club's statement in the week about flags and placards being banned from the away end, to see so many Evertonians ignore that sly and idiotic ruling was brilliant. It is possible to see why so many were saying that that particular directive could and probably, in all likelihood, did come straight from the Premier League themselves in an effort to silence protests against them; especially with Burnley's connection with a lawsuit against Everton for their PSR performance. Personally I think this gave the Everton fans all the ammunition needed to fight for their cause and raise the temperature just a little bit.

Like many keeping up with everything going on today, I do also want to wish Tom Lockyer a full and speedy recovery from his sudden collapse in the game between Luton Town and Bournemouth. Moments like that make football fade into the background and humanity shines through to the foreground. After he went through similar in the play-off final, I can only imagine what he and his family must be going through and he has my best wishes.