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2 days ago
5
The Wolves revival continues, although Rob Edwards will feel it should have gained even more momentum at Everton. Anaemic in the first half, stirring in the second; his team’s performance was in keeping with the story of their season as Mateus Mané’s fine strike earned a merited point against nine-man Everton.
David Moyes’s side, so comfortable before the break, were pinned back by Wolves’ second half recovery and had both Michael Keane and Jack Grealish sent off late on. Grealish’s dismissal was the first red card of his Premier League career. But for a superb Jordan Pickford save from Hugo Bueno in stoppage time, Everton’s punishment would have been greater.
Wolves’ confidence may have improved somewhat on the back of their best run of a taxing season – four points from the previous two games – but their shortcomings were evident throughout the first half at Everton. The visitors struggled physically, were unconvincing defensively and their attacking threat was virtually nonexistent. Apart from that…
There was an opportunity for Wolves to build on their recent improvement at Hill Dickinson Stadium, however, with apprehension stalking Moyes’ players and the home crowd after Sunday’s emphatic home defeat by Brentford. An early goal helped settle the lingering anxieties.
Moyes handed a first Premier League start to 18-year-old Harrison Armstrong, who was recalled from a productive loan spell at Preston on New Year’s Day in response to Everton’s selection shortage. The benefits of playing regularly in the Championship showed as the teenager, stronger and sharper than when appearing for his boyhood club earlier in the season, impressed with his composure, awareness and athleticism.
Tim Iroegbunam volleyed the game’s first chance wastefully wide when Armstrong flicked a delightful cross to the far post and Wolves defender Ladislav Krejci headed into the midfielder’s path. Shooting may not have been Iroegbunam’s strong point but he enjoyed a fine game breaking up Wolves’ moves and linking up play. He was also involved in the breakthrough for Keane.
Wolves were guilty of another risky defensive header when Dwight McNeil swung over a free-kick from the left. João Gomes, beating James Tarkowski to the ball, cleared only as far as Iroegbunam who miscued a shot across the face of the visitors’ goal. Keane reacted quickly and superbly to volley the wayward effort into the roof of José Sá’s net for his third goal of the campaign.
The Everton central defender was close to his second goal of the game when Wolves again failed to deal with a free-kick from the left. This time James Garner was the provider with a delivery drilled to the far post. Keane, rising through a pack of gold shirts, left Sá rooted to the spot with a powerful header but his close range effort smacked against a post. It was not exactly a flowing, quality contest despite the efforts of Jack Grealish and Garner to unlock the Wolves defence with a few cute passes. Sá parried from Garner’s deflected shot after the Everton midfielder had weaved his way into the area. Yerson Mosquera mopped up the loose ball before Armstrong could convert.
Wolves’ first half threat was limited to a single effort wide from Hugo Bueno, whose appeals for a penalty for an imaginary push by Jake O’Brien were rightly ignored. Edwards responded by introducing André for Jhon Arias at the break. The switch sparked an immediate and vast improvement. Having barely troubled the Everton defence for 45 minutes, the visitors started to take control in midfield and bring the game to the hosts.
Edwards’ second substitution, Jørgen Strand Larsen for the injured Krejci, also had the desired effect. The towering striker had only been on the pitch a minute when he dropped deep to receive Mosquera’s pass out of defence, turned and dissected the Everton rearguard with a fine ball into the run of Mané. The hugely promising 18-year-old accelerated away from the static O’Brien and Tarkowski to beat Jordan Pickford with a clinical finish into the bottom corner.
Everton’s night nosedived further when Keane was sent off in the 82nd minute for supposed violent conduct. The referee, Thomas Kirk, was sent to the pitch-side monitor by the video assistant referee, Chris Kavanagh, after the defender had grabbed Tolu Arokodare’s dreadlocks as the pair challenged for a header. It was a yellow card offence at best but, under the current rules, Kirk had no option but to dismiss the defender, who must now serve a three-match ban. Another red card soon appeared for Grealish who, booked moments earlier for dissent, sarcastically applauded Kirk for giving a free-kick Everton’s way. A second yellow and red duly followed but Everton held out thanks to Pickford.
