2 hours ago
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So much for the comforts of home. Everton had a tantalising opportunity at Hill Dickinson Stadium with sixth place and momentum in the push for European qualification the prize for beating Bournemouth. David Moyes’s team let it slip through their grasp once again.
Andoni Iraola’s side extended their unbeaten Premier League run to six games courtesy of second-half headers from Rayan, who could just be their latest gem, and Amine Adli. Bournemouth’s brace, plus a straight red card for the Everton defender Jake O’Brien, arrived in an eight-minute spell in which the hosts imploded to leave themselves without a home win since 6 December. Everton have collected 17 points from their last eight away games but only eight from the last nine at home. Their quest for Europe is floundering on home soil.
The England Under-21 international Tyrique George made a full debut for Everton following his loan move from Chelsea on deadline day. The 20-year-old started on the left of Moyes’s attack, filling the role vacated by Jack Grealish’s season-ending foot injury. George showed a few sharp moves, and a few rusty ones on his first start since mid-December, but this was a difficult occasion for anyone to shine. A difficult watch too for the opening half hour.
Everton had plenty of incentive to take the game to Bournemouth but made a laboured start. The lack of options available to James Garner or Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall drove the Everton duo and crowd to distraction. The visitors, meanwhile, were solid and composed in possession but rarely threatened.
Iliman Ndiaye’s disallowed goal was the only incident of note in the first 30 minutes. The Senegal international was clearly offside when attempting to flick Idrissa Gueye’s volley beyond Djordje Petrovic. Mercifully, the contest improved after Petrovic spilled an ambitious 30-yard free-kick by Garner into the path of Thierno Barry. The striker was unmarked in the six-yard box when the rebound came to him but sliced his shot woefully wide. It will enhance the achievement of reaching Europe, should Everton get there, to do so with Barry and Beto leading the attack this season.
The miss sparked the home team into life, however. A minute later Dewsbury-Hall swept an inviting cross along the face of Petrovic’s goal and Ndiaye, arriving at the back post, saw his first-time shot turned on to the woodwork by the Bournemouth keeper.
Everton were presented with a chance to end the stalemate when Rayan, Bournemouth’s recent £24.7m signing from Vasco da Gama, tripped Jarrad Branthwaite inside the penalty area. Branthwaite had been restored to his favoured central-defensive role in place of Michael Keane and was rewarded for his persistence, and adventure, when harrying the winger as he attempted to clear. Rayan unwittingly clipped Branthwaite after the defender took the ball from him, and right in front of referee, Andrew Madley. Ndiaye swept the resulting spot-kick inside Petrovic’s right-hand post.
Barry should have doubled Everton’s lead early in the second half when Ndiaye weaved his way into the Bournemouth area and picked out the unmarked striker with a perfect pass. Barry’s tame effort was blocked in front of the line by Álex Jiménez, and the home side’s night soon disintegrated. The forward was withdrawn shortly afterwards and appeared distraught as he sat on the bench. He could have no complaints with Moyes’s decision.
Adrien Truffert served notice of Bournemouth’s second-half improvement with a long-range drive that fizzed past Jordan Pickford’s far post. The left back’s effort was sandwiched between two penalty appeals by the visitors, for a handball by Garner before the interval and a trip by Vitalii Mykolenko on Rayan, and though neither were given Iraola’s players never lost focus.
Rayan atoned for conceding Everton’s penalty with a second goal in two starts for his new club. Truffert sent a cross over Mykolenko and the Brazilian winger soared in at the back post to beat Pickford with an emphatic header. Three minutes later, with Everton again unconvincing in the air, Bournemouth were ahead. Pickford and his defenders were all at sea when Alex Scott delivered a free-kick into the Everton area. James Hill headed across goal for Adli to steer a diving header into an empty net.
Everton’s collapse also included a straight red for O’Brien when he collided into Adli and was adjudged to have denied a clear goalscoring opportunity.
