Everton player ratings v Peterborough: Ndiaye anonymous, Armstrong shines
Everton advanced to the fourth round of the FA Cup by beating Peterborough United 2-0 on Thursday.
The players would have no doubt been distracted after Sean Dyche was sacked just hours ahead of kick-off at Goodison Park on 9 January, with The Friedkin Group expected to be targeting a big-name manager as the 53-year-old’s replacement.
Beto, who wants to leave the Toffees in January [via TuttoMercatoWeb, 8 January], opened the scoring in the 42nd minute before Iliman Ndiaye wrapped the tie-up by scoring from the penalty spot with a matter of minutes left to play.
Goodison News rated each player out of 10.
João Virgínia – 5
Forced into a smart save just before halftime. Didn’t have anything else to do.
Jake O’Brien – 6
Looked relatively solid on what was a rare Everton appearance, but wasn’t troubled too much in fairness.
Michael Keane – 5
Didn’t have too much to do defensively but did miss a big chance to double the Everton lead.
Jarrad Branthwaite – 6
Made a big block on the line as Peterborough almost took the lead from a corner. Relatively solid throughout and looked good on the ball.
Nathan Patterson – 6
Tidy defensively and showed some promise going forward. Should have had an assist after setting up an opportunity for Gueye.
Vitalii Mykolenko – 6
Made a great block to deny the visitors a shock lead midway through the first half. Solid in his defensive work and showed some quality on the ball.
Orel Mangala – 6
Went close to opening the scoring with a fine effort as he struck the crossbar. Could have done better defensively and perhaps gave away one too many fouls.
Idrissa Gueye – 6
Missed a big chance to double the Everton lead, was pretty anonymous otherwise but didn’t put a foot wrong defensively.
Harrison Armstrong shines on first start for Everton
Harrison Armstrong – 8
Played a delightful pass to set Beto up for the opener. Overall a bright first start for the 17-year-old.
Beto – 7
Had a headed chance in the first half which he perhaps should have taken. However, made amends moments later as he rounded the keeper and finished cooly.
Iliman Ndiaye – 5
Pretty anonymous and didn’t provide much threat against League One opposition despite being one of the Toffees’ most promising players this season. Fans would have expected much more from a player of his quality despite his goal from the penalty spot late on.
Subsitutes
Armando Broja (On for Beto, 68′) – N/A
Terrible luck for the striker as he was stretchered off having only just come back from injury.
Jack Harrison (On for Armstrong, 68′) – 4
Played a brilliant ball to Keane which the defender should have done better with.
Ashley Young (On for Patterson, 73′) – 4
Helped the Toffees see out the win.
Jesper Lindstrøm (On for Broja, 89′) – N/A
Abdoulaye Doucouré (On for Mangala, 89′) – N/A
In other Everton news, TFG have been accused of taking the club back to the days of Farhad Moshiri already.
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