Phil Jagielka made the difference for Everton when he converted a decisive spot-kick to give them a penalty shootout victory over Stoke City in the opening match of the Premier League Asia Trophy in Singapore on Wednesday, after a competitive contest that had ended scoreless. They will now meet Arsenal in Saturday’s final after the London club thrashed a Singapore Select XI 4-0.
Roberto Martínez’s Everton appeared the fitter of the two sides in an absorbing match that became more open as the teams tired. Romelu Lukaku was a constant menace but the Belgian was also guilty of wasting a number of chances, the worst coming in the 90th minute when he scuffed wide of Jakob Haugaard’s goal after wriggling free of his markers.
Despite playing in sweltering temperatures at the Singapore National Stadium, both sides appeared committed to turning the contest into a thorough workout but were probably delighted to go straight to penalties after 90 minutes.
Although Everton had been wasteful during the match, they were ruthless in the shootout, sending Haugaard the wrong way on every penalty before captain Jagielka sealed the contest 5-4 when he thumped his effort into the top right-hand corner.
“It was more than a pre-season game, we had to deal with the heat, humidity and difficult conditions but I felt on top of that it was very competitive, both sides pushed each other and winning the shootout was a great feeling,” said Martínez.
“All in all it was a terrific exercise and we can now look forward to participate in Saturday’s final and play for the trophy,” he added.
The Dutch midfielder Marco van Ginkel, on loan from Chelsea as part of the deal that took goalkeeper Asmir Begovic the other way, was the only man to miss from the spot when he blasted straight at Tim Howard for Stoke’s second penalty.
However, despite the defeat, the Stoke manager Mark Hughes was content with his side’s performance in a game when injury and fitness concerns prevented him from playing his strongest team.“I thought it was a very accomplished performance, a good workout. I thought the guys acquitted themselves really well, individually and collectively. We looked strong, the timing of our runs was good and it was a good competitive game,” he said.
Stoke will play the Singapore Select XI in Saturday’s consolation game at the biennial pre-season tournament.
