Full-time announcement does not tell Everton story - Dyche has truth to confront

Full-time announcement does not tell whole Everton story - Sean Dyche has blunt truths to confront

Everton verdict from Joe Thomas after a desperate 1-0 loss to Southampton in the Premier League

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On the final whistle, Beto sunk to the ground. Sean Dyche strode several yards onto the pitch and applauded the Everton supporters. Aaron Ramsdale was named man of the match over the PA system. And Russell Martin wrapped his arms around his players before fist-pumping a jubilant home crowd.

That Southampton’s goalkeeper was named the best player on the pitch told a compelling story, one in which his fingertip saves from Michael Keane and Jesper Lindstrom were the foundation for his side’s first league win of the season.

It could so very easily have been so different - Everton would have made it six unbeaten had it not been for those superb saves, the millimetres that separated Beto from the last man, leading to his wonderfully taken equaliser being ruled out for offside, or perhaps the yellow card for Jan Bednarek at 0-0 that Dyche believes should have been red when the Blues striker burst beyond him and towards goal.

But if Dyche happened to leave St Mary’s feeling as though it was just bad luck, or hair-breadth judgement calls that ended Everton’s unbeaten streak, that would be wrong. This was an almighty missed opportunity for his side. It was also a missed opportunity for him.

Seven days earlier, Everton got out of jail. After being toyed with for 90 minutes by a Fulham side that was too organised, too intelligent and too strong, the Blues’ resilience - an impressive attribute that Dyche deserves credit for driving into his players - broke through in stoppage time and Beto turned a bad performance into a useful point.

That was a game that offered lessons that were not heeded in the seven days that followed, however.

Yes, Everton could very easily have won on the south coast. But in failing to do so, gifting a bereft Southampton a desperately needed confidence boost in the process, part of the responsibility falls onto the decision-makers.

The hosts, intent on playing out from the back, were a danger to themselves. They looked vulnerable for large parts of this game and escaped punishment when Everton caught them under pressure. When they passed through the visitors they offered a threat but they were far from menacing. And they always appeared fragile.

There was a chance to seize this game - something that every team apart from winless Ipswich Town has managed to do against Southampton this season. This was not the game to fear. This was the time to pounce. In starting Jesper Lindstrom maybe, to an extent, Dyche acknowledged that - the winger’s end product has been awry since his arrival from Napoli but his pace caused this same team serious problems at Goodison Park in the Carabao Cup earlier this season.

He had a rollercoaster of a game but was inches from a goal and assist - his devilish cross just evading Dominic Calvert-Lewin in the first half and his free-kick producing one of two excellent saves.

The question is whether that change, one of two made as Orel Mangala replaced the injured Abdoulaye Doucoure, was enough. Jarrad Branthwaite has been fit for more than three weeks now. It is no disservice to the efforts of either Michael Keane or James Tarkowski to make way for one of Europe’s most promising defensive talents.

Yet he remained on the bench until, for a second game in a week, a defender Everton value north of £70m was reduced to being introduced so he could spend the final minutes sending long balls forward to, in Keane, another centre back, as desperate times led to desperate measures.

At their most threatening in the final minutes of the first half, Southampton’s big chances saw Cameron Archer being forced wide enough by veteran Ashley Young for his angle to be too tight to test Jordan Pickford and centre back Taylor Harwood-Bellis heading wide from a corner when he should have been better.

Pacey and dominant in the air, Branthwaite would likely have dealt with both chances and his speed and athleticism may have allowed his teammates to push 10 yards further forward and fully exploit the opportunities that Southampton’s riskiness with the ball presented when Everton closed down the space.

Questions remain over the positioning of McNeil, a late call after he overcame an injury that disrupted his preparations for this week. Having spent his Everton career on the left his move to a central attacking role has produced moments of magic this season.

But it is doing little to prevent Calvert-Lewin from being isolated while depriving the forward of his superb crossing ability - showcased with McNeil’s inch-perfect ball to Jack Harrison when he was moved to the left for the later stages. Harrison could have scored from that chance but the second half substitute cushioned the ball wide of Ramsdale’s post. When carrying the ball in a four on four late in the first half, McNeil lingered too long before playing in one of the teammates queuing up for a shot.

The persistence with McNeil in the middle also means Everton’s most influential player Iliman Ndiaye, whose impact was limited by a thumping Kyle Walker-Peters challenge in the second minute, is far easier to control. That was clear at Fulham last week and again at Southampton, where his ability to go both ways and bring others into play feels hampered when he is up against the touchline.

Beto, following his last minute heroics last week, now presents another dilemma for Dyche after his cameo saw him draw fouls in dangerous areas, hit the bar with a reflex header and bring down a long ball with a glorious first touch before slotting past Ramsdale only for VAR to rule he was offside by the barest of margins.

And for all this, Everton still could have won. Aside from Harrison’s volley and Beto’s bad luck, Keane’s brave diving header forced a magnificent save from Ramsdale - as did the Lindstrom free-kick won by Beto when he was hauled down by Bednarek. Mangala forced Ramsdale into one good save then wasted another chance after seizing on a loose ball.

Yet Everton leave Southampton after being undone by their own tactics. Before the bar had stopped shaking from Beto’s header Adam Armstrong had thumped the winner beyond Pickford after the home side launched a counter attack down the right and Yukinari Sugawara pulled the ball back.

There were five minutes left - during which Beto appeared to have found a route of defeat for a second week in a row. But then came VAR. Everton could so easily have won this and Dyche will take comfort in that. Yet this is a time for introspection, not self-pity. Eight other clubs have found ways to beat Southampton in the league this season. Bad luck, tight calls and Ramsdale’s brilliance may have played their role but Everton are also culpable for this defeat.

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