Ally McCoist and Andy Townsend sympathetic with Ashley Young after Everton v Brighton
Ally McCoist and Andy Townsend have offered their sympathy to Everton full-back Ashley Young for having to contend with Kaoru Mitoma against Brighton.
The Toffees drew 1-1 with Brighton on Saturday (4 November), as Vitalii Mykolenko’s first-half strike was cancelled out by Young’s late own goal as he deflected Mitoma’s cross beyond a sprawling Jordan Pickford in the Everton net.
While it was another difficult afternoon for the 38-year-old following his sending-off against Liverpool in his last Premier League outing, both McCoist and Townsend were keen to credit the England international for keeping Mitoma quiet for much of the game.
Speaking on talkSport (6 November, 8:54) Townsend said: “Do you know what, for somebody like Ashley Young, all credit to him, he’s still playing Premier League football, but for somebody like him at his age, you come against a winger like that, good luck.
“Years ago, we could how do you say, ‘make contact’ with someone like that, you can’t do that anymore, you just can’t.”
McCoist was quick to agree saying: “You need the midfield in front of you to get back. He found that to his cost in the derby didn’t he?”
Tough afternoon
Young’s last few weeks are the perfect demonstration of just how quickly life can change in the Premier League, with the 38-year-old managing to score once, score one own goal and be sent off in his last three outings as he struggles for consistency.
Mitoma has made a number of defenders look like they are struggling during his brief time in England and a similar was true at Goodison Park on Saturday, with Young being dribbled past four times before he was substituted in added time.
The own goal was incredibly unfortunate for both Young and the Toffees as the defender was helpless to see his block loop over the head of Pickford, but maybe he should have done more to close down the Brighton winger quicker, rather than afford him plenty of space inside the area.
Young has looked slightly off of the pace multiple times this season and it might finally be time for Dyche to drop him to the bench, with Nathan Patterson waiting in the wings and Seamus Coleman closing in on a return from injury.
After all, there may well be a reason that few players play in the Premier League into their late thirties.
In other Everton news, the Toffees have received a huge new boost with Abdoulaye Doucoure confirming that he won’t play at this year’s AFCON