Daniel Feliciano

Sat 14 January 2023 16:58, UK

Everton suffered yet another defeat in the Premier League as James Ward-Prowse scored twice in the second half to earn all three points.

It was an even first half, but the quality of Amadou Onana shone as he headed home from Demarai Gray’s corner midway through the opening 45 minutes to give the Toffees the lead.

But the lead didn’t last long as James Ward-Prowse capitalised on an error after just 50 seconds in the second half to slot home an equaliser.

The second half was even once again, and Ward-Prowse netted yet another goal with a stunning free-kick once again to give the Saints all three points and keep the Toffees in the relegation zone.

Here’s how Goodison News rated the performance of each player in today’s game…

Jordan Pickford – 6/10

Made a simply stunning save on the stroke of half-time to keep us ahead going into the break. Could do nothing about either goal that was conceded, but maybe should have made an effort to stop the free-kick.

Seamus Coleman – 3/10

The intensity in his game that was synonymous with him is gone, and the team really misses Nathan Patterson. He got caught out several times and offered very little going forward.

Ben Godfrey – 4/10

Godfrey started relatively well but as the game went on he just struggled more and more. Didn’t do much aerially despite being the dominant defender and his passing was poor.

James Tarkowski – 5/10

After such a strong start to his Toffees career, Tarkowski is now struggling to be consistent again. Did well in the air but was constantly dragged around by the opposition forwards and found himself out wide on several occasions.

Conor Coady – 5/10

A tough performance again, but not much he could have done about either goal himself. Tried to build from the back but a lack of options in forward areas meant he was safe with his passing all afternoon and that didn’t help.

Vitalii Mykolenko – 6/10

Everything good about the first-half came down the left flank with Mykolenko, but in the second half he couldn’t get into the game at all. Tried to rescue the free-kick by dropping back, but was just too late with his reactions to stop it going in.

Idrissa Gueye – 6/10

Gueye had a decent defensive performance, with very little coming through the middle to hurt the team. His legs aren’t what they once were though and he tired as the game went on, which could have been the reason why it was Anthony Gordon tracking back late on and giving away the free-kick that led to the winner.

Amadou Onana – 8/10

Best player on the pitch in the first-half with his dynamism and power. Well deserved goal and continued that performance in the second half, showing exactly why we forked out big money to bring him in during the summer.

Alex Iwobi – 7/10

Considering he was stretchered off just over a week ago with ligament damage, Iwobi was excellent throughout the 90 minutes of this game in a more advanced role. Showed great energy and drive, but once again that final pass was missing.

Demarai Gray – 5/10

A quiet showing from the forward, but yet he still managed to show his quality with a brilliant cross for Onana’s goal. Didn’t get nearly enough service to do damage and playing through the middle we didn’t see the best of him, but he’s the only bright spark right now.

Dominic Calvert-Lewin – 5/10

Another 90 minutes under his belt, but Calvert-Lewin is not the same player he once was. Physically he looked spent quickly and while he saw an effort crash back off the crossbar, he never really looked like a danger.

Substitutes

Anthony Gordon – 5/10

The winger tried to make a difference when he came on and was eager to impress, but that cost Everton again when he recklessly made a tackle and gave away a dangerous free-kick which led to the winner. He has to be smarter and find his quality from last season again.

Ellis Simms – N/A