It shouldn’t work. It so almost did. Watford’s grand experiment did not quite end in success.
Advertisement
The teams haven’t played since February 2007 when Everton won the game 0 – 3. Lukaku bagged 20 goals last season, and with the depth behind him virtually non-existent, it would be a major problem if he were to miss the game.
Deeney might have soured a fine 45 minutes for Watford as a two-footed lunge on Galloway saw him only booked, before Layun drilled narrowly wide and the home side departed to boos at half-time.
The Premier League newcomers have made 10 summer signings from seven countries and their squad contains 22 different nationalities.
Paddy Power have whipped up an intriguing “First Manager to be Sent Off” market, which is sure to catch the eye of football fans as the Premier League prepares for take-off on Saturday.
Miguel Layun fired them into the lead within quarter of an hour of their top flight return, capitalising on some sloppy Everton defending to hammer into the roof of the net after a ball into the box wasn’t cleared.
The home side tried to answer back but became increasingly frustrated as the half wore on and Gareth Barry’s header from a corner, which Huerelho Gomes was forced to tip over, was as close they came to scoring.
Martinez added: “Ross Barkley scores a goal that only he can score with that technique and that class but with a new maturity”. “He didn’t train during the week”, said Sanchez Flores. He was seen as the last man to manage Chelsea before the club got big and sometimes mocked a tad for his studious ways.
Everton continued to dominate as the half wore and fashioned another good chance on 68 minutes when Tom Cleverley found Kone unmarked with a brilliant cross from deep on the right flank but the substitute headed over. Kone’s two-year Everton career had only produced one goal. Until yesterday. He had to win the crowd over.
But Everton fought back with equalisers from Ross Barkley and another sub, Arouna Kone, to grab an unlikely point.
Advertisement
And regarding his first competitive assignment in the job, Flores said after the match: “Having conceded the second goal so late in the game, the first feeling when you go to the dressing room is that you have lost two points”.
