PRE-season friendlies are rarely considered must-win games, but there has been a change of thinking in the Everton camp lately.
To cure a tendency of starting premier league seasons badly, David Moyes has asked his team to put the emphasis on winning before a ball has even been kicked in the domestic campaign.
For that reason, with two straight-forward wins in Australia already under their belt, the result today - which saw Everton beat Brisbane Roar 2-1 in their final game in Australia - was more important than the performance at Brisbane’s Suncorp stadium.
It is just as well.
Everton ended their successful tour down under with a tame performance which probably did little to covert watching Aussies to the beautiful game.
But as with the other two friendlies in this sports-mad country, there were plenty of positives; largely thanks to the potential of youth.
Jack Rodwell and recent signing Magaye Gueye have impressed and hinted that they could both play important roles in the forthcoming campaign to break into the top four.
Rodwell, with two goals in three games, is guaranteed to figure far more as he continues to develop at an electrifying pace. And Gueye has the potential to become a useful weapon from the bench with which Moyes can settle tight games.
The Everton boss admitted that there was the possibility that a long flight home after a longer than usual tour had crept into his players’ minds during the first half.
Certainly they lacked spark against a super-fit team who denied them time on the ball and pressed Everton’s better players relentlessly.
The first real effort on goal was a 15-yeard strike from Roar’s German midfielder Thomas Broich which Ian Turner held comfortably. Then Jack Rodwell conceded a free kick by clattering Brazilian playmaker Henrqiue Silva, but the resultant strike was tame and never going to trouble Everton’s young Scottish keeper.
The pace of the opening quarter was decidedly flat, with neither side looking remotely threatening. Only a couple of unforced errors from the Roar offered Everton opportunities, as they struggled to impose themselves on their limited opponents.
As with the two previous games, it took Seamus Coleman to shake things up.
The right-back embarked on one of his trademark forward surges going past two and nut-megging his counterpart for the Roar before earning a throw-in, which Everton almost scored from. Coleman again whipped in a cross and Louis Saha got to it first to stab a strike at Michael Theoklitos. In response Roar stepped up their tempo and Henrique, nicknamed the Slippery Fish, Silva went close, as skipper Matt McKay started to display a nice range of passing.
But with proceedings soon returned to a lull, and it took Louis Saha to single handedly try and ignite the game with a burst of pace on the edge of the area to set himself up for crack at goal. Unfortunately the Frenchman hesitated a split second too long and his shot was saved with relative ease, but he was one of very few Everton players to look remotely threatening in a lame half.
Everton were laboured and failed to create any gilt-edged chances against a side which finished second from bottom of the A-league last season, and sold three of their better players to FC Utrecht.
Even though this was a friendly, David Moyes was entitled to ask for more from his men at half-time, and four minutes after the restart Jack Rodwell obliged.
The teenager’s elegant performances have been one of the major plus points of this tour, and the opener epitomised his class. He received the ball from 20 yards out, looked up and curled a perfect strike into the top right hand corner of the goal.
Everton woke up afterwards. Leighton Baines curled a free kick over the wall on 54 minutes, and Louis Saha volleyed a vicious effort on goal, before McKay also went close for Roar.
Victor Anichebe, on for Rodwell with half an hour left, sidefooted an effort over the bar before the game really took an unusual turn. Everton conceded their first goal of the tour when swift passing from Mitch Nichols undid their back line and Kosta Barbarouses slid his shot in off Ian Turner’s post.
Anichebe’s cameo was lively. He missed another chance when he went one on one with the keeper thanks to his own strength and perseverance. But it was his surge forward which created Everton’s second, when he rode a tackle and carried the ball 20 yards, feeding Jose Baxter who slid a deft pass to the impressive Magaye Gueye to tap in at the far post.
Roar were increasingly good value opponents though, finding gaps in Everton’s weary-looking defence and only failing to equalise because of woeful finishing.
In the end, the Blues had their win and a satisfying clean-sweep. But David Moyes will judge the success of this tour at the end of August, when he will still be happy to take wins anyway they come.
STAR MAN: Jack Rodwell impressed again and has staked a strong claim for a regular first team place.
EVERTON: Turner, Coleman, Jagielka, Distin, Baines, Bilyaletdinov (Gueye, 69), Neville, Osman, Rodwell (Anichebe 64), Saha (Vaughan 74), Beckford (Baxter, 74). Subs not used: Jutkiewicz, Mustafi, Silva, Hibbert.
BRISBANE ROAR: Theoklitos, Smith, Devere, Stefanutto, Franjic, Paartalu, Henrique, Reinaldo (Barbarouses), McCkay, Brattan. Subs not used: Mundy, Nicholls, Redmayne, Meyer, Susak, Bowles, McCormick, Acton
Ref: Peter Green Attendance: 19, 786
