Everton 2-0 Man Utd: New Dawn Unmistakable As United Crumble

Everton 2-0 Man Utd

There are games you win that bring happiness, and then there are games you win that say something else. Against our fast becoming favorite opponent, this win said in 200ft neon letters: We are back as a force and a team to be scared off.

I have never been so proud to be an Evertonian. watching our team grow in stature all season encapsulated today in a performance that offered a mouth-watering glimpse into the future. As well as a thrilling present.

To see Everton play with such authority, such ruthlessness, was beautiful. We had United exactly where we wanted them from moment one.

The game plan worked like a dream; letting United have all the possession before hitting them on the break suited us perfectly as the players returned to a performance in keeping with Roberto’s wonderful maiden season.

For all the justified jeering Moyes received on his return to Goodison Park, the most hurtful aspect he would have felt is how much we have moved on without him. The football, the style, the quality in our play, the tactics. We are light years ahead of what we had under Man Utd’s chosen one.

This was Everton at their very best. This was the crowd at their very best. When we are like this I feel no-one can touch us. The ferocity in the stands was matched on the pitch as Everton attacked United with pace and power from the off.

Everton let their opponents have the ball for large periods, with the emphasis on breaking at every opportunity. A complete change of philosophy from Martinez once again highlighting the wonderful flexibility not only of his tactical nous, but also of the team who carried out the game plan to perfection.

With Everton springing, a penalty claim was turned down. Naismith seeing his close range shot come off Jonny Evans arm. It would have been harsh to award a pen for that, but unabated, the counter attacks from Everton kept coming. The usually deadly Naismith squandered a great chance, blazing over from Lukaku’s knockdown.

The frustration wasn’t to last and in the 28th minute Everton’s superiority was rewarded when Jones,  all over the place following another Everton break, handled Lukaku’s goal-bound effort from an amusing spread-eagled position. Mark Clattenberg pointed to the spot and Baines trusted his instincts by stroking the ball straight down the middle with De Gea gambling wrong to his left.

Everton 1-0 Man Utd

Martinez’s tactics and the commitment of the players to the system, aided by United’s front four showing an aversion to getting into our box was working a treat. No Dave, you didn’t control the ball, we let you have it. Moyes deluded post match reaction would be hysterical if it wasn’t so tragic.

Dreamland arrived in the 43rd minute with Mirallas latching onto the world-class Coleman’s through ball and staying onside to side-foot with unerring accuracy into the bottom left hand corner. A cameraman’s dream along with 40,000 screaming Evertonians.

Everton 2-0 Man Utd

Goodison was in orbit. Nobody celebrates quite like Evertonians, all the feeling, the emotion, the love, comes screaming out in an orchestra of passion. We have a truly special club and as a fan base,with Martinez at the helm, we are on the verge of something very special. This confirmed the sense that Everton have now truly arrived as a competitive force at the business end of the premier league.

The second half started with Distin being replaced by Alcaraz. For all United threatened he could have been replaced with a drunk from the Oak and nobody would have noticed.

In fairness Alcaraz looked great, slotting in effortlessly next to Bobby Moore mark II. I am simply running out of words to praise the outrageously talented and mature John Stones. Once again, he was an absolute class act today.

The second half went by so fast. I’ve never experienced watching a United side at Goodison with so little threat. If anyone was going to add to the scoreline it was us. Naismith lacking composure once more when slicing over from 6 yards following excellent wing play from the impressive Mirallas.

Following another break from the imperious Coleman, Naismith fired low only to see De Gea tip his goal-bound effort around the post with the Gwladys Street ready to explode.

United managed to worry Everton in the closing moments when Rooney was played in by Hernandez, only to see Howard block his effort superbly and preserving a well deserved clean sheet. If only for keeping his concentration going right to the end, in a game where he was rarely called upon.

Full time and a richly deserved win meant we closed the gap to Arsenal to one point. Also worth noting that on each occasion we have lost this season, we have bounced back with a victory. A sign indeed that this team refuses to stop moving forward.

The control we had over the game was immense and no-one personified Everton’s performance more than Seamus Coleman.

From start to finish he was comfortably the best player on the pitch. Lung busting runs as constant as the look of dejection on Moyes face. He was perfect, performing his defensive duties admirably while combining it with penetrating intensive attacking play. Coleman has had a wonderful season, possibly Europe’s finest right back.

I don’t think that’s being ridiculous. Is there anyone else who has performed as well as Coleman this season? No-one springs to mind.

The whole team deserves huge praise for the result today, taking us up to 20 league wins and 69 points. A truly arousing number at this stage of the season.

Arsenal may well feel they have got fourth in the bag and I got the feeling today they thought they had seen us off with a victory at Hull, but we deliciously kept up the pressure on them with an uncompromising display. The sky is the limit for us with Roberto.

Arsenal: If you want your annual fourth place trophy, then you are going to have to work for it. The pressure is right back on.

Everyone deserved to be man of the match today but a special mention has to be reserved for James McCarthy. What a player he is. He looked every inch Peter Reid in their today. Seemingly in two places at once all game, his presence allowed the forward players to break with menace.

James McCarthy is a phenomenal footballer who only needs to add goals to his game to be considered a great.

With 20 wins in a season of transition the Potential for our team next season is outrageous. I’m not going to enter into some premature board negativity but the message is simple:

Do whats right for once, back Roberto and watch the good times flow. It’s that simple.

Roberto Martinez isn’t here to mess about. I can’t thank him enough for what he’s brought to the club this season, and the air of magic that surrounds our Catalan manager may well have one more trick left. With an Arsenal slip up required for us to join Europe’s finest.

We have to take this to the last day of the season. Hull shown today that the league isn’t taking priority for them. It is clutching at straws a little bit but Norwich needing points on the last day of the season facing Arsenal at Carrow Road could provide an opportunity for us to capitalise. Stating the obvious but winning our last three is now a necessity.

Absolutely floating writing this, the doldrums of Wednesday night has been replaced with a euphoric feeling today. The School of Science has now got its feet firmly under the table at Goodison Park once more. A feeling of immense pride in our team will not go away.

Everton FC are back!

“We are finishing the season really strongly and that is down to the work-rate of the players on a daily basis” Roberto Martinez 

Keep going lads, the Glass Ceiling is cracking under the strain.

Sin Miedo

Mark Ellis