What a difference a week makes. 2 wins on the bounce and things are looking a little rosier for Everton. A hard earned 2-1 victory against Dinamo Kyiv at Goodison was followed by thumping Newcastle 3-0. Green shoots of recovery were certainly evident.
The first leg against Kyiv was a strange one. The first 30 minutes was down there with the worst seen this season, and the final 60 was up there with the best. We started slowly, and were undone by a training ground set piece that gave Kyiv a crucial away goal. They settled quickly and I must admit I feared the worst at that point, and I wasn’t the only one. I kid you not, the gentleman sat to my left decided he had seen enough after about 20 minutes and headed for the exit. Thankfully, he will now be regretting his decision as things soon improved. Almost immediately, we had a succession of corners which culminated in a shot from Alcaraz that went narrowly over. I don’t know about anyone else, but to me that period of play seemed to change to atmosphere completely. The fans found their voice and we didn’t look back as we went on to secure victory.
That said, it’s a real shame that 60 minutes of near total dominance only resulted in two goals. To say we had them on the ropes would be an understatement as they struggled to get out of their own penalty area, let alone half. As a consequence, 2-1 will seem like a rather positive result to them. What this means for us is that we cannot approach this game in any way other than to win it. Yes a draw sends us through, but our advantage in only slender. We must aim to cancel out that away goal and put ourselves firmly in the driving seat.
Kyiv are likely to pose a different prospect on their own patch backed by, reputedly, 70,000 fans. They do, however, appear slightly suspect at the back. Lukaku had of one his best games in a blue shirt as the Kyiv rear-guard struggled to cope with his physical presence, power and pace. Everything we thought we were getting with Rom when we signed him was on display last Thursday. Hopefully he carries that on because if he plays well, generally, so does the team.
As for how we’ll line up, the resounding success of 4-4-2 at the weekend means Roberto has a decision to make. It may depend on whether Kone can start two games within a week, which seems unlikely. The wide areas also pose a problem. With Mirallas and Lennon unavailable, Mcgeady or Atsu could get a look in. Naismith, Barry and Stones will probably return.
We’ve embraced this competition from day one, seemingly to the detriment of our Premier League form. But these are the sorts of games that we want to be involved in regularly, and any kind of result tomorrow puts us in the quarter-finals. We’ve had some great nights so far and ended some impeccable home records. So let’s hope the lads do the business and take the game to them from the first whistle.
Up the Toffees
