Sky commentator wowed by ‘brilliant’ Jordan Pickford in Everton v West Ham
During a quiet opening 15 minutes at the London Stadium, one Everton player managed to stand out with a piece of exceptional play against West Ham.
Toffees number one Jordan Pickford helped to keep Frank Lampard’s side in the contest when Pablo Fornals found himself bearing down on goal.
The England international spread himself wide and slid in for what seemed more like a tackle than a save to prevent the Spaniard from putting the home side in front.
Sky Sports commentator Andy Hinchcliffe was very impressed by what he’d seen from Pickford as the game struggled to burst into life.
“It’s a brilliant tackle by Jordan Pickford,” Hinchcliffe said (Sky Sports Premier League, 3 April, 14:15). “He doesn’t go with his hands but with his feet and I think he’s made the right choice in doing that.”
Over reliant
It’s been a problem for a large portion of this season but Everton cannot keep hanging their hat on Pickford saving their bacon.
He can only do so much and if he isn’t going to get help from his defence then is there any reason for trying to survive.
It’s been too much of a one-man show in defence and it’s a good job that Pickford is as good as he is because a lesser goalkeeper would have the Toffees relegated already.
Michael Keane and Ben Godfrey have to be more aware of danger as West Ham were able to waltz through the last line of defence without having to break a sweat.
You would hope that Lampard would have let them know by now that they aren’t doing enough but unless he’s been speaking in mandarin, they’re not listening.
In other Everton news, another Sky Sports pundit is becoming increasingly worried about one particular development on Merseyside this week.
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