Here’s Andy Hunter’s match report.
Sheffield United Jack Robinson, who supplied the assist for the winner, has spoken to the BBC.
We’ve all had a look in the mirror and thought we need a bit of pride. That was a performance we’ve been looking for all season. I dragged my shot but [Daniel Rebbison]’s on the end of it. We’re not proud of this season. We’ll work on it next year in the Championship and hope to get back up.
Ouch.
Everton have lost at home to 4 of the last 6 teams who have been relegated from the Premier League. #EFC
— EFC Statto (@EFC_Statto) May 16, 2021
Oh dear.
9 - Everton have lost nine Premier League matches at Goodison Park this season; the joint-most they have ever lost at home in a league campaign, alongside 1912-13, 1947-48, 1950-51 and 1993-94. Strangers. pic.twitter.com/mpqVlIkKp8
— OptaJoe (@OptaJoe) May 16, 2021
It’s all about Jebbo tonight.
1 - Aged 17 years and 309 days, Sheffield United's Daniel Jebbison is the youngest player in Premier League history to score on his first start in the competition. Dream. pic.twitter.com/SE0meUgyS6
— OptaJoe (@OptaJoe) May 16, 2021
Daniel Jebbison. Baller. 🌟
— Sheffield United (@SheffieldUnited) May 16, 2021
📸 - (@premierleague.) pic.twitter.com/pr1RvxvPVA
Wanna feel like the 2000s were not that long ago?
Daniel Jebbison, Sheffield United’s matchwinner tonight, was born the day before Beyoncé’s Crazy In Love went to No 1.
— Glenn Ebrey (@glennebrey) May 16, 2021
Mary Waltz: “Losing to [Sheffield] United just seals the deal for this bloody awful Covid year. This is just too Evertony for this Everton fan. Next season can’t come fast enough cause the bad taste of this season needs to go.”
Everton need a miracle to make Europe, and have Wolves and Manchester City to come. Sheffield United have done plenty for their pride tonight.
| Pos | Team | P | GD | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Man City | 36 | 47 | 83 |
| 2 | Man Utd | 36 | 28 | 70 |
| 3 | Leicester | 36 | 21 | 66 |
| 4 | Chelsea | 36 | 22 | 64 |
| 5 | Liverpool | 36 | 21 | 63 |
| 6 | Tottenham Hotspur | 36 | 22 | 59 |
| 7 | West Ham | 36 | 10 | 59 |
| 8 | Everton | 36 | 3 | 56 |
| 9 | Arsenal | 36 | 12 | 55 |
| 10 | Leeds | 36 | 4 | 53 |
| 11 | Aston Villa | 36 | 7 | 49 |
| 12 | Wolverhampton | 36 | -14 | 45 |
| 13 | Crystal Palace | 36 | -21 | 44 |
| 14 | Southampton | 36 | -16 | 43 |
| 15 | Burnley | 36 | -18 | 39 |
| 16 | Newcastle | 36 | -19 | 39 |
| 17 | Brighton | 36 | -5 | 38 |
| 18 | Fulham | 36 | -24 | 27 |
| 19 | West Brom | 36 | -37 | 26 |
| 20 | Sheff Utd | 36 | -43 | 20 |
Full-time: Everton 0-1 Sheffield United
A ninth home loss for Everton, a second away win for Blades. Daniel Jebbison, the 17-year-old, scored the winner in a game his team fully deserved to take the victory from.
90+3 min: Michael Keane launches the ball long. And Ramsdale claims. Everton have offered nothing in attack. Bernard fails to keep the ball in and Ramsdale is fouled. That’s it, game over, and Sheffield United win it!
90+2 min: Plenty of in-box baulking but Ben Godfrey climbs highest and heads over. Carlo looks very annoyed on the sidelines. Europe will not be happening.
90+1 min: There will be three minutes added on at the end. Everton force a corner, as Egan tackles Richarlison.
90 min: Egan throws body and soul in front of a Sigurdsson shot. Then Coleman falls over the ball. Everton have had an absolute shocker.
88 min: David McGoldrick, who has excelled, runs all the way back to clear up some danger. And does so again. He’s applauded by Paul Heckingbottom for his efforts.
87 min: Duncan Ferguson is doing some muttering in the Everton dugout. Someone is going to be hearing from him, and even if they don’t, they will fear his disapproval. That hybrid Scots-Scouse accent is jammering away.
86 min: Blades swarming up into the corner and pressing like demons. Everton just don’t seem to have the same stomach for the fight.
84 min: Real scramble in the Blades box. Coleman gets to the byline, and then Bernard runs out of space and runs off the end of the pitch.
82 min: More Z-Cars, this time from David Hagan. “Re: Z-Cars, it’s got fairly solid Scouse credentials being based on a folk song collected in Liverpool, with lyrics about Liverpool, adapted by two musicians from the Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra (one of whom was the guy who wrote the “Lern Yerself Scouse” series), and used as the theme tune for a show set on, and mostly filmed in, Merseyside. I’m also pretty sure Everton were also the first team to play it (in 1962).“
Perhaps Watford should stick to the Reg Dwight...no, joking aside, it’s good fun at both grounds.
81 min: Booking for Baldock, for dissent. He felt Calvert-Lewin had bought a foul.
79 min: Jebbison speeds along and is fouled. He’s been great when he’s had the rare chance to show off his talent. He’s been aided by the excellence of David McGoldrick playing off him.
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78 min: Two Everton changes. Andres Gomes and Bernard on, off go Doucoure and the highly disappointing James.
77 min: McGoldrick goes close...played in by Stevens, he turns and shoots and it’s deflected wide. Chaos from the corner as Egan climbs highest. Pickford has to put it behind.
76 min: Digne’s cross is headed over by Sigurdsson, as Bernard readies himself to come on. James will be making way.
74 min: Blades back up the other end and retaining possession. They have been really good, particularly McGoldrick, who has been dropping deep with Jebbison up top.
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72 min: Rodriguez, who is due to be hooked, tries to make something happen as Everton push on. Blades stepping back a bit? That could be dangerous.
70 min: Everton chance. Richarlison bursts down the left and shoots. Ramsdale again makes a fine save.
68 min: James Francis, on, yes, Z-Cars. “Allow me to set the record straight on Z-Cars. Everton were first to adopt it because the actor Leonard Williams, who played Sergeant Twentyman in the show, was an Evertonian who was invited to a game as a guest of the club. He passed away in 1962. A local historian found a match report from the Liverpool Echo stating that Everton played the theme for the first “seven or eight” home fixtures of the 1962/3 season. Deepening the obvious Liverpool connection, the Z-Cars theme was based on the melody of Johnny Todd which is a traditional Liverpool (or more likely Irish) folk song.
“The origin of the Watford connection is actually disputed and slightly complicated but it is clear Everton were first. Ken Furphy was an Evertonian and Watford’s player-manager starting from the 1964/5 season (he previously player-managed Workington AFC who also apparently used the theme in the 1963/4 season). However, there’s solid documentary evidence that Watford randomly used the theme before Furphy arrived as his predecessor Billy McGarry, who managed the club throughout the 1963/4 season, chose it simply because he liked the show! Anyway, up the Toffees.”
You live and learn. Great stuff. Thanks, James.
66 min: Rodriguez is booked for a foul on the excellent Jack Robinson. A free-kick that John Fleck will take, Egan heads back across goal and Calvert-Lewin has to clear. A Blades goal looks the more likely here. Everton have been atrocious.
64 min: Good chance for Blades defender John Egan, as he heads over.
63 min: On the field, Sheffield United continue to look nothing like a team who have 17 points from 35 matches.
61 min: Richard Hirst on great lost talent. “I would love to have Ryan Sessegnon back at Fulham. He may not have done it at Tottenham, but he will somewhere. And he is ‘one of our own’.”
60 min: More Z-Cars, from Dante Rossetti: “I think the question should be where did the Z Cars music come from? I remember 55 years ago singing about Johnny Todd who took to the sea leaving his true love weeping on the Liverpool tide. Just a thought.”
59 min: More moaning from Pickford as he comes out to hack clear. He’s not happy at all. His longer hair suits him. No longer the Thomas Turgoose, now a minor cast member on Robin of Sherwood.
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57 min: Jordan Pickford claims the ball and then screams at his teammates in a style that is a combination of either of the Schmeichels, and Rude Kid from Viz.
56 min: Everton finding a few more spaces with those creative players in tandem up front. But Blades continue to look good in defence. Chris Basham revives his overlapping full-backs act by speeding the length of the field and winning a free-kick.
54 min: Blades keeping their shape as Everton try to probe. Egan stops Calvert-Lewin getting away from a Sigurdsson pass.
52 min: Everton step it up. Richarlison attempts to nod the ball down to Sigurdsson and eventually there’s a corner. Ramsdale claims that with some confidence.
50 min: Rodriguez to the right, Sigurdsson to the left of an attacking trident behind Dominic Calvert-Lewin, with Richarlison in the centre. The problem is getting the ball to them.
48 min: Can Blades keep it up? Let’s see. They were really peak Wilder in that first half, and I don’t mean the Great Dominions and Bent Out Of Shape.
46 min: There’s been an Everton change: Mason Holgate off, and on comes Gylfi Sigurdsson. That’s a total ripping up of the original plan by Don Carlo. Holgate did seem a bit off it in the first half.
Graham Moger gets in touch. “In reference to the ubiquitous Mary Waltz’s contribution, comparing this game to the WBA-Liverpool game; if we see Pickford scoring a late winner, I shall believe that God (or Allah, Jehovah or Tom Cruise if you prefer) is probably a goalkeeper.”
Jon Millard, a Blade, gets in touch. “As a Blades fan, can I just say how happy I will be when Daniel Jebbison is turning out for someone else in August, as we begin the serious business of clattering pointlessly about the Championship for two seasons before dropping into League 1. I’m sure many middle ranking teams can say this, but what a team we would have if we could just hang on to players. Can fans of other there-and-there-about teams perhaps list their lost stars?”
Half-time: Everton 0-1 Sheffield United
Duncan Ferguson and Carlo Ancelotti were chatting on the sidelines just ahead of the half-time whistle. There is much to improve from Everton. Blades have been good, from goalkeeper Aaron Ramsdale through to Daniel Jebbison, who took his goal so coolly and has been a real danger.
45+2 min: Keane floats in a pass and Richarlison makes a mess of it. That was not the finish of someone in good form. That’s the end of the half.
45 min: Another flash of Jebbison, but this time Doucoure’s long legs rob him as he tries to arrow in on goal.
43 min: Some rude words said from the sidelines and the TV broadcast have had to apologise. Another view of those second Jebbison chances. He was like a whippet, so quick, and his finish was very cool if a tad close to the goalkeeper.
41 min: Everton chances...Richarlison’s header saved by Ramsdale and then a followup save from Calvert-Lewin, with the ball bouncing off his chest. It was a fine ball in by James Rodriguez. Superb goalkeeping there, absolutely superb from someone who’s had a tough season.
38 min: Chance for James...the ball drops into his path. He cuts inside and then Basham comes across to block. Manful defending from the boys from the bottom of Ecclesall Road. (Or thereabouts, it’s been a while.)
36 min: Mary Waltz again: “The Toffees better wake up. United obviously watched what West Brom almost did to Liverpool. Right now Sheffield is running them ragged.”
She’s right, you know.
34 min: Almost a second from Jebbison after Mason Holgate switches off. He tries to chip Pickford, who makes a fine save, and then the rebound is blocked. He’s alert and alive, the young man.
33 min: Lots of shouting from Paul Heckingbottom and Jason Tindall, his assistant to the regional manager. Blades fancy this. Get it to Jebbo and they might get the job done.
31 min: It’s a decent enough game. Everton have some jeopardy, Blades have nothing to lose. That’s made for a decent contest.
29 min: More Blades attacking. Hell of a whack from John Fleck after a rebound of a McGoldrick shot. Jordan Pickford shows a strong hand in punching the ball away.
27 min: Chris Basham is booked, and might have been red-ed. He caught Lucas Digne with a heavy one. Digne is down and looks in some pain though he does recover.
25 min: On Z-Cars, Jeff Lloyd gets in touch from Maidenhead. “I’m a Watford fan and LOVE the fact that Everton claim it as ‘theirs’ when the truth is that both clubs chose it as walk on music at almost the exact same time in the late 60s. Watford’s boss from 64-71, Scouser Ken Furphy, suggested the club start using it as the show was very popular and he liked it, as a scouser watching a show set in Liverpool. Everton started using it at about the same time. Neither club can seen to prove the first use. Watford club suits have occasionally tried to change it but the reaction when this happens is always ferocious opposition.”
24 min: Everton are not a team built to play on the front foot. Chasing matches is not their forte. Coleman asks for a handball in the Blades box, with Jack Robinson deemed not to have handled it. It was a ‘natural’ position.
22 min: That said, Blades do look comfortable and confident. And happy to step forward.
20 min: Everton now dominating possession, and beginning to knock on the door. Digne’s long cross finds Calvert-Lewin, who heads downwards but can’t beat Ramsdale.
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18 min: Everton have not been good at all. They are keeping the ball at the moment, as if they are seeking calm. “Resting on the ball” was what Brendan Rodgers, the greatest living British manager, calls it.
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16 min: Blades are pinging it around, playing well. Memories of the early weeks of the 2019-20 season. McGoldrick is played in by Osborn and shoots wide. He needs to take a leaf out of Jebbison’s book.
14 min: Digne smashes the ball off the field, such is the pressure that Blades are putting on Everton.
13 min: When Sheffield United attack, Jebbison just speeds away. He really is very very quick. He was on loan at Chorley earlier this season.
11 min: Calvert-Lewin’s shot is deflected wide for Everton’s first corner. That comes out to the edge of the box, and Allan, with his outstep, shoots. Great save from Ramsdale. It was skidding along.
9 min: Everton, by the way, defended very badly indeed for that goal, and Carlo can be heard caterwauling on the sidelines. They let Blades through faster than you can say, er, Jack Robinson.
8 min: Jebbison knows where the goal is, we know that now. He really enjoyed that too. First start, first goal at 17. A fairytale. Wow.
Goal! Everton 0-1 Sheffield United (Jebbison, 7)
A goal from the 17-year-old. Lovely skill from Robinson, and a great run. He centres the ball and Jebbison taps home.
Updated
6 min: Paul Heckingbottom has eschewed the hood and his short back and sides is now wetter than an otter’s pocket. Lot of zest on the pitch, not much in the way of calm. They probably can’t see the ball.
4 min: First glimpse of Jebbison, and he’s quick, very quick, but too hasty, and ends up fouling Mason Holgate in his haste. Holgate is no slouch himself.
3 min: Carlo, linked with a return to Real Madrid, is stood on the sidelines with his hood up. It is tipping down on Merseyside.
2 min: Even the fake crowd doesn’t sound too up for this one.
1 min: Away we go after the players take the knee at kick-off.
Here comes the Z-Cars music, and this is not Vicarage Road so this must be Goodison Park.
(Why do they have it at Vicarage Road?)
Mary Waltz is in: “James being in and out of the line-up due to injuries hurt Everton badly. At the start of the season Calvert Lewin and James were clicking, Everton was scoring at a top four pace. Of course his age and size means James probably can’t be counted on for a full season. Still, dropped points against lesser opponents was a huge disappointment.”
Paul Heckingbottom tells BT Sport what we can expect from Daniel Jebbison.
Score goals and win us the game...no, he brought energy and enthusiasm [off the bench]. He’s a centre forward who plays like a number nine, he’s a long way from the finished article and we want him to enjoy himself.
The word from Michael Brown, a Blades star of the past, is that he plays a bit like Dominic Calvert-Lewin, who began his career at Blades, too. On the quiet, it’s quite a factory of talent is Bramall Lane - Harry Maguire, Che Adams, DCL, and now Jebbo. It’s a great football city, just a pity about the seasons the two clubs have had.
Carlo Ancelotti speaks to BT Sport.
Yes, we need points to keep the dream alive. We need three points, we have a problem at Goodison. I hope it will be different tonight. James Rodriguez brought quality, assists and goals, an important player for us.
100% Blades legend Billy Sharp is not in the squad today and is watching the matches from home by the looks of things.
What a header Alisson 🤣👍👌🏻⚽️🔥
— billy sharp (@billysharp10) May 16, 2021
Daniel Harris previewed this game thusly in Ten Things.
It’s been a strange season for Everton, who started well before regressing to the mediocre mean Carlo Ancelotti was supposed to prevent. Though ninth looks about their level, it’s hard not to feel cheated that they’ve not done better and a goal-tally of 46 – the fewest of the top 11 – is a particular disappointment, especially given the quality of their attackers. Richarlison has scored just six times in 31 league appearances, and though he must take much of the blame because he is better than that, his manager and teammates must do more to facilitate him, while Dominic Calvert-Lewin – whose 16 in 30 is respectable – will know that he is capable of better. Looking at Ancelotti’s squad, the absence of a proper winger is glaring and perhaps that’s all that’s necessary to unlock his strikers’ full potential. But in the meantime they must impose themselves more, and a home game with Sheffield United is a good place to start.
Who is Daniel Jebbison? He’s a Canadian-born England youth international, and he’s on the shopping list of some major European clubs, including Bayern Munich and Borussia Dortmund, it says here. He came on as a sub in that Crystal Palace game last week and has been a star of Blades’ pretty useful development team.
United’s No.38. 🙌🏾
— Sheffield United (@SheffieldUnited) May 16, 2021
A first @premierleague start for Daniel Jebbison. pic.twitter.com/tx8HhZoNNN
For Everton, James Rodriguez replaces Gylfi Sigurdsson, who drops to the bench in the only change for Carlo Ancelotti from that Aston Villa draw.
Sheffield United’s headline selection is that of 17-year-old Daniel Jebbinson, for his first Premier League start. Two other changes: Jack Robinson and Ben Osborn come into midfield. Kean Bryan and Oli Burke drop out.
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The teams are in
Everton: Pickford, Holgate, Keane, Godfrey, Coleman, Doucoure, Allan, James, Digne, Richarlison, Calvert-Lewin. Subs: Virginia, Olsen, Delph, Sigurdsson, Iwobi, Nkounkou, Bernard, Andre Gomes, Davies.
Sheffield United: Ramsdale, Basham, Egan, Stevens, Baldock, Osborn, Norwood, Fleck, Robinson, Jebbison, McGoldrick. Subs: Lundstram, Lowe, Jagielka, Foderingham, Bogle, Brewster, Bryan, Brunt, Gordon.
Referee: Jon Moss (W Yorkshire)
Preamble
Everton gonna Everton. Last week’s win at West Ham showed just how effective a team they can be, and then came that midweek draw with Aston Villa. The Hammers’ draw last night with Brighton has opened up a shard of light to get into seventh, where a Europa League medal will be on offer if Manchester United win this season’s final. Sheffield United, down down for many weeks, and essentially playing for nothing, should present an easy three points and the chance to breathe down David Moyes’ reddening neck. But as stated above, this is Everton and they do things differently.
Kick-off is at 7pm, join me.
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