Abdoulaye Doucoure sloppy, Iliman Ndiaye untouchable – Everton player ratings in win at Ipswich
Everton recorded just a second win of the Premier League season with an impressive 2-0 victory away at Ipswich.
After a delayed start Iliman Ndiaye smashed the Toffees ahead on 17 minutes, firing into the far top corner after the home side made a mess of clearing a Jack Harrison cross, before Michael Oliver awarded a penalty for a clash between Dwight McNeil and Jack Clarke.
The situation was very similar to the Dominic Calvert-Lewin and Dan Burn incident vs Newcastle and was overturned after a VAR review before Michael Keane hammered a superb second high into the net from a tight angle in the 40th minute after good work from McNeil.
A professional second-half performance then saw Sean Dyche’s comfortably sit on their lead and play out the win.
Here, Goodison News rates the Toffees players out of 10 for their performances at Portman Road.
Jordan Pickford – 6
Never really tested as Ipswich didn’t have an attempt on target until late but was sharp enough off his line to claim or cut out balls forward when required. Shoved over by Liam Delap after a clearance in possibly his main involvement of the second half.
Ashley Young – 6
Preferred to three right-backs on the bench he booted Leif Davis half an hour in but otherwise it was a relatively uneventful outing as he kept things pretty tight down the right.
James Tarkowski – 6
Laid down an early marker when he clattered into Omari Hutchinson with a fair challenge but a quiet game on the whole otherwise
Michael Keane strong for Everton in place of Jarrad Branthwaite
Michael Keane – 8
Sometimes begs the question why he is a centre-back and not a forward. Starting in place of the injured Jarrad Branthwaite again he as booked for taking out Hutchinson in a dangerous area with his first real contribution but responded with another stunning finish for his goal. Appeared to give him a lot of confidence as he delivered an assured defensive display after the half.
Vitalii Mykolenko – 6
No major issues at the back but a quiet outing overall for the Ukrainian, back in the side after injury, and played his part in keeping it tight at the back in the second half.
Idrissa Gana Gueye – 7
Important work in the middle to underpin a strong away performance. After a quiet first half he was increasingly key following the interval as Everton looked to consolidate their position. Snuffed out numerous loose balls and potential attacks, while he was tidy on the ball recycling possession.
Idrissa Gueye important in midfield for Sean Dyche
Abdoulaye Doucouré – 5
Hardly awful but an up-and-down display in a deeper role that doesn’t seem to best suite him and looked the most likely candidate to let the hosts in. Sloppy in possession at times while the game was still in the balance, but looked more comfortable as the game wore on and Toffees were able to sit deep and break, and did play some nice passes.
Jack Harrison – 7
Almost a very good game but lacked end product. His deep cross caused panic at the back for Ipswich before the opener but his delivery was too often lacking at the end of surging runs forward. Hard to fault his effort as he was energetic throughout, while his dribbling and combination playing was good.
Dwight McNeil – 6
Comfortable in possession but short of his best. Bafflingly took too long and squandered a strong early opportunity when set up by Ndiaye for a first-time effort. Nearly made a key error with the penalty incident but may have been clever to exploit the same ruling the Toffees were on the wrong end of last time out. Combined relatively well with those around him but his radar was off at times.
Iliman Ndiaye (off for Mangala ’81) – Man of the Match – 9
Excellent all-round performance. Lethal early to pounce on an error at the back and smash Everton in front. Always an outlet going forward and could have had a couple of assists if his teammates’ finishing was better, but also put in a lot of vital hard yards tracking opponents defensively and pressing. Has obviously quality on the ball and was untouchable at times as he twisted between challenges but his work out of possession was almost as impressive.
Dominic Calvert-Lewin does everything but score at Portman Road
Dominic Calvert-Lewin – 7
Great centre-forward’s display on the road except, crucially, for his finishing as he perhaps should have had four. He was a regular threat from the start, and did plenty of important work holding the ball up and running the channels. But he failed to take a golden early chance he fashioned himself to seize on loose play and get in one on one with the keeper, then saw another low strike kept out, while he never pulled the trigger when found by Ndiaye after the break. Still, his all-round work, as well as some surging runs down the left, were crucial for the overall team performance and illustrated why the club are pushing for a contract extension.
Substitutions
Orel Mangala (on for Ndiaye ’81) – 6
Dyche would have been facing renewed calls for the sack if withdrawing star man Ndiaye had backfired. The Lyon loanee didn’t offer a great deal but helped clog up the centre of the park.
In other Everton news, Dyche is set for questions after the game over the unexpected absence of another first-team player.
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