Garth Crooks blasts Everton ace Coleman for error in Crystal Palace loss
Garth Crooks has blamed Seamus Coleman after his error allowed Crystal Palace grab a third goal against Everton at Selhurst Park on Sunday.
The Eagles secured a 3-1 win over the Toffees yesterday (12 December), but the visitors were still chasing a result late in the game until Conor Gallagher’s worldie ended their chances.
Coleman’s clearance played perfectly into the hands of the Palace midfielder, and Crooks believes he was responsible for Rafa Benitez’s side leaving London without any points.
The BBC pundit wrote in his Team of the Week column: “Everton might have got something out of this game if Seamus Coleman hadn’t tried to be too clever.
“In trying to smash the free-kick into Jeff Schlupp – and get him booked for encroachment – he missed the player and gave the ball away and Gallagher did the rest.”
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The Chelsea loanee and James Tomkins had put Patrick Vieira’s men ahead, but Salomon Rondon came off the bench to halve the deficit and hand his team a huge lifeline.
However, Coleman’s attempt to get Schlupp booked backfired, and Everton were made to pay.
Demarai Gray and Ben Godfrey were at fault for the first two goals, and the captain did not fare any better.
Those individual errors were their undoing, and that has often been the case this season.
The Toffees have lost concentration at the back countless times, and they are paying for it with defeats and draws.
They have conceded 28 goals in 16 games so far in 2021-22, and a lot of them have been from individual or collective errors.
Everton will need to do better defensively if they want to challenge for Europe this season.
They could soon find themselves in a relegation battle if care is not taken, and Benitez will be hoping they react to their latest setback when they face Chelsea on Thursday (16 December).
In other Everton news, the Toffees are plotting January loan-to-buy bid for centre-mid hailed by Jack Grealish last month.
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