Perry Groves blasts Jordan Pickford after Everton 1-0 loss v West Ham
Everton suffered a 1-0 defeat at the hands of West Ham United at Goodison Park on Sunday, with Angelo Ogbonna grabbing the winner.
Toffees goalkeeper Jordan Pickford was not pleased that referee Stuart Attwell allowed the goal to stand, complaining that he was fouled by Michail Antonio in the build-up to the corner.
Ogbonna outjumped Pickford to get on the end of Jarrod Bowen’s corner, and Perry Groves was critical of the decision of the Everton goalie to rush out from his line.
The England international found himself in no man’s land, allowing the West Ham centre-back guide his header into an empty net.
Pickford was quick to remind the ref that he was fouled prior to the corner, but his appeal was waved away, and Groves was not pleased with his decision.
He told talkSPORT: “I don’t actually know where Pickford is going.
“He makes a decision to come to the near and get involved and he shouldn’t have got involved. It’s a great delivery. You’ve got to make sure you defend it better at the near post
“Jordan Pickford found himself in no man’s land and is running to the referee to deflect from his bad decision.
“I hate when players moan about a bad decision. You can’t do anything about it, defend the corner. You attack the ball and the Everton centre-half didn’t do it.”
Error
Pickford has to shoulder the blame for West Ham goal, and while there are debates over whether he should have been protected by the officials, the Everton man clearly should know better.
He has enough experience, but sadly, he got one of the basics of goalkeeping wrong, and it cost his team in the end.
While his defenders should have done better to deal with the corner, they did not, and Pickford truly had no business coming off his lines at that moment.
He attempted to make up for his error with some brilliant saves afterwards, but Everton forwards could not bail him out at the other end, failing to convert the few chances they created.
Pickford is going to learn from this mistake going forward, and he should be doing the right things first before thinking of being helped by the ref.
The officials will not always get every call correct, and the onus will always be on the Everton man to make the right calls during such moments.
In other Everton news, Benitez has admitted he finds it hard to understand Toffees man sometimes.
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