Ben Godfrey struggles with 4/10, James Tarkowski shines with 8/10 – Everton v Fulham half-time player ratings
Everton head into the half-time break of their Premier League clash with Fulham level at 0-0 with Marco Silva’s side after a fairly quiet opening 45 minutes.
The Toffees had a lot of the ball and had the majority of the chances to take the lead in the opening 45 minutes at Craven Cottage on Tuesday (30 January) but were unable to make their dominance count.
Fulham carried their own threat and could well have taken the lead with a number of golden chances late in the half, had it not been for some excellent defending from the Toffees.
Jordan Pickford -7
A wonderful save to deny Andreas Periera around the 10-minute mark as he once again stepped up when his team needed him. The England number one had very little else to do but did what was required when he was needed.
Ben Godfrey – 4
The versatile defender hasn’t played much this season and it showed in the first half. A few bits of rustiness on the ball partnered with a number of needless fouls put Everton under pressure and saw him booked. There was little in his first-half performance to suggest Dyche should keep him at Goodison.
James Tarkowski – 8
Saw his left-footed effort cleared off of the line after a deflection with what was a defender’s finish. The Toffees’ skipper would have hoped to have found the back of the net but dealt with everything he had to in the defensive third. Huge block in the final moments on the line.
Jarrad Branthwaite – 7
Fulham didn’t pose too many questions of the defender, but once again he did all he could in the backline. A couple of magnificent blocks to deny Willian late on, however. Will have much busier halves of football in the remainder of his career than he did at Craven Cottage.
Vitalii Mykolenko – 6
A huge block to deny Bobby Decordova-Reid when he looked likely to score in the final 15 minutes of the half. The Ukraine international was quite going forward than normal but did what he needed to out of possession.
Ashley Young – 5
A quiet first half for the former England international who didn’t see loads of the ball on the right flank. Carried a threat with his deliveries from set-pieces but almost appeared to be a spare part in the Everton system when in possession.
James Garner – 6
A quiet first half for the midfielder with a couple of wayward passes and a few poor efforts out of possession. Can turn a game on its head with one pass, however.
Dwight McNeil – 6
Found himself in a more central role on Tuesday night and while it saw him get plenty of the ball, it limited his opportunities to cross the ball into the penalty area. Still showed impressive flashes but was nowhere near involved enough in the final third.
Arnaut Danjuma – 5
Wasteful effort from long-range when there were a number of better passing options ahead of the Dutchman. Danjuma saw plenty of the ball but was unable to make his possession count. Blasted a golden chance high and wide just after 30 minutes in an effort that summed up his time on Merseyside.
Jack Harrison – 6
Had an excellent chance to open the scoring in the opening couple of exchanges but blazed his effort well wide of the post. His pace and direct style caused plenty of problems but he always seemed to lack the composure needed in the final third.
Dominic Calvert-Lewin – 5
After a couple of bright pieces of lin-up play in the early stages, saw very little of the ball for the remainder of the half. Battled against the Cottager’s backline but to very little avail as he was barely involved in proceedings.
In other Everton news, Jonathan Rowe has turned down a European transfer amid interest from the Toffees
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