Fara Williams ‘gutted’ live on BBC as Everton draw with ‘lucky’ Brighton
Fara Williams was full of praise for Everton as they earned a hard-fought point against Brighton at Goodison Park, but claimed the visitors were lucky in the 1-1 draw.
Brighton equalised through a huge deflection which went down as an Ashley Young own goal, but the strength of Everton’s defence and their improvement since last season was what Williams highlighted.
The BBC pundit praised the work Sean Dyche and his team have put in to improve their displays which has culminated in their marked upturn in form of late.
Williams was speaking live on BBC Sport Final Score [4 November, 17:22], where she stated: “Everton will be really gutted with the final result there.
“They look so much better, Everton, I think they look tighter as a collective, I think defensively they’ve been much much stronger this season if you compare them to last season. The work they’ve done over the summer has certainly improved them.
“But they’ll be gutted with that. That Young deflection, the goal that they conceded for the equaliser for Brighton, but that’s five now that Brighton haven’t won. They only got one point and it was a lucky point as well.”
A frustrating result
Everton were solid defensively throughout and barely allowed Brighton a sniff at goal, and a defensive performance like that deserves much more than just one point. A deflected own goal feels like a typical way to throw away a lead, but Dyche’s side should take the positives from the game.
That is the type of home performance that you expect from a Dyche side at home against a team who are flying high. A strong display which required every player to do their bit, and every player to show up.
As Everton fans have become accustomed to in recent years, oftentimes in the Premier League, even the perfect game plan doesn’t result in three points. There is a lot to take from that result though, and a lot to be pleased about heading into the next one.
Dyche’s side faces a visit to Selhurst Park to face Crystal Palace next, and will be targeting that game as one they feel they can take all three points from.
In other Everton news, Richard Keys and Andy Gray have reacted to the game.