An overview of how Everton’s draw at Leicester City was interpreted by reporters beyond the ECHO as the Blues earned a first point of their Premier League campaign
Everton failed to hold onto another lead at Leicester City but most onlookers were able to draw positives from the performance. Iliman Ndiaye’s 12th-minute strike gave the Blues the lead at the King Power Stadium and further chances followed as the away side dominated for the first hour.
But Leicester eventually gained a foothold in the match and, after Stephy Mavididi’s late equaliser, looked the more likely to find a winner.
Peter Lansley wrote in The Guardian that both sides could point to progress following a match played against the backdrop of tough starts to the campaign. He focused on the belief that appeared to surge through the Blues at the start of the match, writing: “Everton did not start like a team struggling for confidence. Indeed, they should have been ahead even before they opened the scoring, Jesper Lindstrom volleying wide Ndiaye’s superb cross.”
He described Ndiaye as “excellent” and of the attacking options on the pitch for the first hour of this game he proclaimed: “Slick, compact yet always threatening penetration through Ndiaye on the left flank and Dwight McNeil through the middle, they looked anything but a team without a point, more like a team with a point to prove.”
Graham Hill wrote for The Times that, while the Blues ran out of steam in the closing stages , meaning another lead was lost, there were good signs for the away side. He said: “The storm clouds surrounding Everton lifted briefly as Sean Dyche’s illness-hit side held on for a point – which their manager viewed as a positive – despite surrendering another lead.
“The fact that they did not lose again was an achievement in itself, having gone two goals up in their previous matches against Bournemouth and Aston Villa only to end up on the wrong side of a 3-2 scoreline on both occasions.”
In The Telegraph, John Percy reported Leicester as the side that looked most likely to find a winner, but that much of the play before Mavididi’s equaliser allowed Dyche to take some encouragement. He, like many, highlighted the impression made by Ndiaye, writing: “This result was in Dyche’s view a “mini-positive step”, with his injury-ravaged squad putting their first point on the board and now hoping for a brighter future. Everton were impressive defensively, restricting Leicester to only two shots on target, while £15million summer signing Iliman Ndiaye already appears a shrewd piece of business.”
Shamoon Hafez at the BBC highlighted the value of a point that lifts the Blues from the bottom of the table – though he also pointed to the missed chances that made this a missed opportunity.
He wrote: “For the fourth consecutive game, Everton will be left wondering what might have been as they let slip another lead – but this point allowed them to move off the foot of the table… They failed to build on Ndiaye’s well-taken opener and similar to the game during the week, on-loan winger Jesper Lindstrom was guilty of missing numerous presentable openings. The Dane volleyed wide at the far post inside the opening five minutes when he should really have buried the chance, while a thumping drive was kept out by Hermansen and another effort was blazed over from the angle.”
At The Mail, Lewis Steele wrote that, while the Blues again conceded an advantage, this match at least ended in a draw. He said: “Sean Dyche had seen this film before – and although the ending was slightly more pleasing than his last two times watching it, the Everton boss must be sick to death of the same old storyline plaguing his beleaguered team.
“For a third successive game, the Toffees started in style, took the lead with a well-worked goal and looked a good bet to go on and win. But then they retreated, invited pressure and eventually contrived to throw it away.
“What could – and perhaps should – have been three victories in a row has concluded with zero wins on the board and just one point to show for it. Had they won those games, Everton would be in the European spots. Instead, they are in the drop zone, 19th on alphabetical order alone.”
The ECHO focused on the support of the away end amid a tough start to the season and in horrendous conditions, pointing out Dyche’s acknowledgement of their support perhaps shows an awareness of their importance in helping the team right now.
And, while the form to date is a clear concern, it was pointed out some positives do exist: “There is still some room for optimism. Everton were the better side for most of this fixture. Much of the focus is on the defence and that is justified, a team that notched clean sheet after clean sheet last season is still to record its first of this one. But Everton again looked a threat. They have in most games this year and that is positive.”