I guess that's why they call them The Blues
Everton continue their mood of springtime sadness, allowing another two points to slip through their fingers
A season that threatened the worst, and then hinted at the best, appears to limping over the line mired in mediocrity. Everton's farewell to Goodison Park continued to underwhelm with a seventh consecutive game without victory, despite being 2-0 up against an already relegated Ipswich Town.
Just as they had against Manchester United, David Moyes’ men threw away a position of strength and were holding on to avoid what would have been an embarrassing defeat.
Beto and Dwight McNeil had sent the home crowd into raptures, but there was barely time to think of increasing that lead before they were pegged back by a Julio Enciso sizzler. George Hirst sprang from the bench to complete the comeback and earn his side a fifth point on the road from their last four outings.
Ipswich were officially cast back into the Championship last weekend, but never looked like a team feeling sorry for themselves. Kieran McKenna had a raft of injuries to deal with as well as disappointment, and he will take pride in the way that he and his players weathered the storm
Dominic Calvert-Lewin returned to the Everton matchday squad after missing the last 12 games with a hamstring injury, sitting next to fellow returnees Yousef Chermiti and Armando Broja. Add them to Beto, McNeil, Iliman Ndiaye and Carlos Alcaraz in the starting line-up, and at long last, Moyes had some attacking options to play with.
Ticker tape flooded the sky as the teams emerged from the tunnel into Saturday sunshine for the final time. No one around here would ever admit that Virgil Van Dijk had any influence on this side of Stanley Park, but after Anfield became a sea of red for their title coronation, the stands were awash with blue.
It made for a spectacular sight to add to the raucous sounds - a much-missed sign of unity that a new manager and new owners have helped to restore. Ipswich turned up in the same mauve shirts as Manchester City had a fortnight before, but even with Pep Guardiola’s men having a below-par season, that’s where the similarities were expected to end.
McKenna’s side have always looked like a team promoted too early. Few of them who have shown the quality required at this level. Liam Delap is an obvious exception, and the former Manchester City youth player has several admirers, including today’s opponents. With James Tarkowski missing, the physical battle between Delap and Everton’s centre backs was shaping up to be critical to the outcome.
Jarrad Branthwaite and Jake O’Brien are no shrinking violets, with many a satisfying crunch echoing around the ground on impact. Delap’s ball carrying was Ipswich’s only threat in the opening stages. For Everton, despite the relative riches in forward areas, there was once again a reliance on set pieces to produce any kind of effort on goal.
Ipswich looked comfortable, and then out of nowhere, they were behind just before the half hour. Good combination work between Alcaraz and Vitali Mykolenko found the Argentine in an inviting crossing position. His ball was perfect for Beto to glance into the bottom corner.
Meanwhile, Delap wasn’t making many friends amongst his potential future teammates. After sharing yellow cards with O’Brien for a scuffle by the corner flag, he clattered into Branthwaite seconds later and left him in a crumpled heap. The Everton faithful howled for a red card, but referee Lewis Smith made the right decision to issue a final warning. Delap has seemed happy to play the pantomime villain at various points this season, but his disciplinary tightrope indirectly helped Everton increase their lead.
Pulling out of a 50/50 challenge allowed Everton to funnel the ball to McNeil 25 yards out. His swerving drive wrong-footed Alex Palmer in the Ipswich goal, and the home fans began to believe they would get the comfortable win they craved. And yet, relegation hasn’t robbed the Tractor Boys of their pride. Fearing another hiding, they began to show some defiance. A neat turn and purposeful run from Omari Hutchinson took him beyond the Everton press. Julio Enciso took his pass in his stride and was able to split two defenders in the box, only to drag his effort wide of the near post.
For all the focus on Delap, it was the on-loan Brighton man who had the away side's only attempts on goal, and his third found Jordan Pickford’s top corner. A jinking run beyond McNeil and Idrissa Gueye offered Enciso a pocket of space from which to take aim. He may have been further from goal than McNeil, but the strike was even better, a fizzing, bending rocket that left England’s number one with no chance. The Paraguayan is a scorer of great goals as opposed to a great goalscorer, and he blessed this grand old ground with another banger to add to his catalogue.
As the second half began, the once-jubilant crowd seemed to remember that their side had just one win from the last nine attempts. Nervous grumbles filled the air with every lost tackle or free-kick conceded. However, Enciso aside, Everton were still the most likely team to score. Delap was chasing shadows before being replaced with 25 minutes remaining as part of a triple change that saw Hirst given a chance to make mischief, alongside Jack Clarke and Kalvin Phillips.
It took Moyes another ten minutes to twist, sending for Calvert-Lewin and Jack Harrison for his two goal scorers. A goal came almost immediately, but to the despair of most of the 39,000 crowd, it was the equaliser. Lewis Smith controversially played on when an Everton body lay on the ground clutching his head, but in fairness, he was close enough to see if there had been any injury. Smith then played on with an Ipswich player on the ground, but Hutchinson didn’t stand on ceremony. He drove to the byline before sending a deflected cross to the back post. Hirst outjumped the sleeping O’Brien, heading the ball down to fox Pickford and find the roof of the net.
The away fans had been in full voice throughout, determined to enjoy their remaining Premier League excursions, regardless of what happened on the pitch. Now that their team had given them something to sing about, their crowing went up several decibels, taunting those in the home end who had lost faith in Everton’s ability to get a winner when leaving on 85 minutes. There was little evidence to suggest they were wrong. Ipswich were playing with confidence, while Everton stank of desperation.
The six minutes of injury time came and went, and Ipswich had another point on the road. “Two-nil, and you fucked it up” jeered the Ipswich fans, and it was hard to argue with their assessment. The home PA responded with “I guess that's why they call it The Blues” - another harsh but fair verdict on a side and a squad that needs major surgery in order to grace their new home with the kind of great memories that the fans will take away from the old one.
Moyes wasn’t too disappointed post-match, no doubt aided by the knowledge that defeats at this stage of the season with safety secured aren’t as damaging: “I thought we did a lot of good things - tried some different things today to see players play in different roles”. That breathing space allows the Everton boss to start planning for next season, and try to work out exactly how many of the thirteen out-of-contract players in his squad he wants to keep.
This defeat may not matter, but the pressure comes flooding back for Goodison’s last stand against another relegated side, Southampton. The Saints won a penalty shootout here in the Carabao cup back in September and will travel to Merseyside free of fear just like their Suffolk peers. Everton will hope they can rouse themselves one more time, but they will need to change the habit of the last two months, and some might say, a lifetime.