Alan Stubbs waxes lyrical over Vitaliy Mykolenko after ‘really, really good’ moment in Everton win v Crystal Palace
Former Everton defender Alan Stubbs has waxed lyrical over the progression of Toffees defensive ace Vitaliy Mykolenko.
The pundit was blown away by the left-back after some “really, really good” defending against Crystal Palace in the FA Cup.
Everton defeated the Eagles 1-0 in the third round replay between the pair at Goodison Park on Wednesday (17 January).
“That passage of play highlights how far Mykolenko has come over the last 12 months in terms of defending as an individual,” Stubbs said on BBC Radio 5 Live Extra (9.04pm).
“He has come on so much. He has read the danger there, and without actually doing an awful lot, all he has done is get his body in front of Odsonne Edouard, which has checked his run and allowed the ball to run through to Joao Virginia in goal.
“It’s really, really good defensive play. There’s an art to it, you don’t just happen to be in the right place at the right time. You’ve got to know where to go, you’ve got to be watching the play and putting yourself in the right position.”
Clear improvement
Mykolenko hasn’t always been a firm favourite at Goodison Park, but the left-back has worked hard over the months, and is now highly thought of by the Toffees fans.
The defender has impressed defensively, but has even popped up with some very important moments at the other end of the pitch.
Mykolenko played the entire 90 minutes of the narrow win against Roy Hodgson’s men, with Andre Gomes netting the only goal of the game.
The full-back played a key role in the win and the important clean sheet, but more credit must go to his goalkeeper Virginia, who put in a mammoth shift between the sticks after he was selected ahead of number one Jordan Pickford.
The deputy shot-stopper was the star of the show, making save after save for the hosts under the lights at Goodison Park.
Another Premier League club now awaits Sean Dyche’s men in the fourth round in the form of Luton Town, with the ties at that stage of the competition to be played later this month.
In other Everton news, Howard Webb was worried about “lots of controversy” after an incident involving one Toffees star in December.
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