James McFadden slams Everton star Dominic Calvert-Lewin for ‘unbelievable’ mistake v Newcastle United
James McFadden has slammed Dominic Calvert-Lewin for his “unbelievable” miss in the first half of the 3-0 Everton win over Newcastle United.
The Toffees picked up all three points at Goodison Park on Thursday 7 December, with second-half goals from Dwight McNeil, Abdoulaye Doucoure and Beto ensuring that Sean Dyche’s side were able to climb out of the relegation zone.
But perhaps the clearest chance of the match fell to Calvert-Lewin midway through the first half as Jordan Pickford’s free-kick was flicked onto the England international, only for his shot from close range to fly over the bar and leave McFadden stunned.
Speaking on BBC Radio 5 Live (7 December, 20:09) he said: “He’s well onside. It should be 1-0, there’s no doubt he should score. It’s a deep delivery to the back post and Tarkowski out of nowhere somehow manages to get it back in towards the middle of the goal.
“Makes its way to Calvert-Lewin, he chests it to volley it with the left foot, he chests it too high for a start and he probably didn’t realise how much time he had and he volleys it high over the bar. That is an unbelievable opportunity for Everton to take the lead.”
Has to do better
Following the Toffees’ win over Nottingham Forest, Beto was slammed for spurning a good chance midway through the first-half clash at the City Ground as he skied an effort from inside the box well over the bar, but this miss from Calvert-Lewin was even worse.
It was almost impressive how far over the bar the 26-year-old managed to place his effort considering how close he actually was to the goalline, but Everton would have expected their best forward option to have slammed home that chance.
Calvert-Lewin is normally the Toffees’ most reliable source of goals, but he has always had a wasteful streak in his game that has seen him miss chances that he really should bury. If he wants to take his game to the next level, he has to find that clinical edge.
Everton have managed to find goals from plenty of other areas of their squad in recent weeks so Calvert-Lewin’s poor form in front of goal hasn’t proved to be too big a problem for Dyche’s side. If and when the Toffees’ goals dry up, however, they’re going to need the 26-year-old to find his magic touch again.
In other Everton news, Tottenham are reportedly interested in signing both Ben Godfrey and Jarrad Branthwaite