Wolves defeat leaves Toffees feeling stuck in the mire

Wolves dealt a further blow to Everton’s survival hopes on Sunday with a 1-0 victory to leave the Toffees outside of the relegation places by virtue of goal difference only.

The atmosphere pre-match at Goodison Park was relatively quiet but as the teams emerged prior to kick-off, the Blues faithful backed their team forcefully and there was the sense that this could be a pivotal day in their season.

Everton began brightly and Richarlison could have opened the scoring inside the first minute, but his effort was kept out by Wolves goalkeeper Jose Sa.

What happened afterwards was perhaps a small event in the match but it had an enormous effect on the crowd.

Hwang Hee-chan went down after taking a knock but was deemed fine to play on. After a minute or so of action, the South Korean was once again on the floor and the anger was building among the supporters.

Hwang would go down again for a third time and the Evertonians were incredulous. Daniel Podence would come on as a substitute but Everton’s bright start and momentum had dissipated, and the atmosphere had now gone from the game.

The first half was very low on chances, particularly of any great quality. Everton huffed and puffed while Wolves slowly felt their way into the game. It felt as if one goal would probably be enough to separate the teams.

Unfortunately for Frank Lampard and his side, things were about to take a turn for the worse.

Ruben Neves recycled the ball after a corner from the right-hand side was cleared and drove on from the wing, producing a great cross that was brilliantly headed past Jordan Pickford.

The realisation that it was former Liverpool man Conor Coady who had scored the header only compounded the woe.

Hindsight is a wonderful thing but Lampard’s decision to go with a midfield pair of Donny van de Beek and Abdoulaye Doucoure up against a trio of Neves, Joao Moutinho and Leander Dendoncker really did not pay off.

Bruno Lage’s men were in complete control. Dendoncker and Moutinho did their part but Neves was absolutely majestic. Constantly finding teammates in space, with a helping hand from Everton, the Portuguese midfielder produced the kind of performance that has seen him linked with the likes of Manchester United.

Lage spoke afterwards saying that he has stressed to Neves the importance of producing these kind of performances if he wishes to reach the ‘top of the top’.

The former Porto man seems to be heeding his manager’s advice as he drives his team towards a potential European position.

As for Everton, the response to going behind was meek. Richarlison had the only real opportunity when he curled into the side-netting after good work from Demarai Gray.

Dominic Calvert-Lewin missed out once more, this time through illness but Richarlison did look the most likely in a blue shirt. Very few of his colleagues reached anything close to the level that is required for Everton to compete in this division.

To make matters worse, the Toffees were reduced to ten men following Jonjoe Kenny’s dismissal for a second booking after a late challenge on Raul Jimenez. Lampard had ‘no qualms’ about the decision and will now be without the full-back for Thursday’s crunch clash with Newcastle United.

Wolves saw the rest of the game out comfortably and boos rained down on Goodison as referee Michael Oliver called time on proceedings.

Other results had not gone the way of the Merseyside club. Leeds United nabbed a late winner against Norwich City to go further clear while Watford grabbed an unexpected three points at Southampton to move level on points with Everton.

Lampard will know it, the players should know and make no mistake, the supporters know that this famous club is heading into the one of the most important periods in the club’s history.

After a bright start, Everton’s form tailed off but there was always the sense that they would turn it around and finish up in mid-table. Time is ticking away now however and the threat of relegation is as real as it has been for 18 years.

The form away from Goodison Park has been awful so Sunday was supposed to be the start of a resurgence with a home win. That failed to materialise and the pressure on the aforementioned game against the resurgent Magpies has ramped up further.

The Toffees do have games in hand but they are only worth anything if you win them, and at this rate the pressure on those games will be fierce.

The fixture list is also unforgiving. There are games to be rescheduled but after the international break, Lampard’s men face West Ham United, Manchester United, Liverpool and Chelsea. It is expected that some of the games to be rescheduled will go in there somewhere but those are away to Burnley and Watford, their two direct relegation rivals.

April looks like it could be a huge month for Everton and it will go a long way to deciding if the Blues remain an ever-present side in the Premier League.

It’s the time to dig in and fight for results and as Watford showed on Sunday, the other sides are up for the challenge. Everton’s management and players must now convince the fans that they can do the same.

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