Everton ‘in trouble’ after 1-1 draw v Brighton as ‘really insidious’ stance shared
Everton are “in trouble” in the Premier League after their draw with Brighton, according to The Telegraph’s Luke Edwards.
The verdict comes after the two clubs played out a 1-1 stalemate at the Amex Stadium on Saturday (24 February).
Seagulls defender Lewis Dunk netted a 95th-minute leveller after Toffees ace Jarrad Branthwaite had put the away side ahead in the 73rd minute.
“There’s been a bit of that with Everton, conceding late goals,” Edwards said on BBC Radio 5 Live’s Football Daily podcast (25 February). “There’s been a lot of nearly performances. They are in trouble.
“They had a great December, we all thought Sean Dyche had cracked it, got them really galvanised. The whole club banded together against the whole burning sense of injustice.
“Now they’re in trouble and he’s limited in what he can do with the players he’s got. They are going to have to scrap and fight for every single point. That would have been a huge win for them and they’re just not getting those wins.
“There’s that danger where you start thinking ‘oh we’re Everton, we’ve made it out before, we’ll get a win from somewhere’. That’s a really insidious thought process that can creep in – ‘oh we’ll be OK, we got an away point today that’s OK, we’ll get a win at home’. Nine games without a win.”
Everton in danger of Premier League relegation
The Toffees really did fight back impressively following their 10-point deduction earlier this season, with Dyche’s side rising up the table after picking up some memorable wins.
But those performances and results have long been forgotten about, with the Goodison Park back in a Premier League relegation battle.
They came so close to a massive and superb three points against Brighton, only to be denied right at the death by Dunk’s goal.
That effort can be put down to great determination from the hosts, particularly given that they had 10 men after Billy Gilmour saw red, but it can also be put down to a lack of focus from the visitors.
The Toffees, like Brighton, really needed to fight until the very final whistle, but they were ultimately undone by what could be a very costly goal in the grand scheme of things.
Dyche’s side currently occupy 17th place in the Premier League table, with a home clash against West Ham up next.
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