Everton made a celebration of their final home game before Christmas with a Salvation Army brass band playing carols at half-time and prizes for the best festive jumpers. Queens Park Rangers performed the role of obliging guest to perfection.
Goals from Ross Barkley, Kevin Mirallas and Steven Naismith made it eight consecutive Premier League away defeats for Harry Redknapp’s team. Unless the recent improvement at Loftus Road is replicated on Rangers’ travels, 2015 will usher in only torment. Only one team in Premier League history has made a worse start on the road and Bolton Wanderers, who lost their first nine away matches in the 1995-96 season, finished bottom that year.
Everton were not exactly accomplished themselves, yet it said everything about their opponents’ frailty in defence and lack of presence in attack that victory was rarely in doubt after Barkley’s emphatic opening goal.
The England international enjoyed his most productive performance of the season by far in the central midfield role he has long craved. His midfield partner Muhamed Besic, however, underpinned a much needed victory for Everton with a tenacious, intelligent display.
“We gave away poor goals, that was the problem,” said Redknapp. “Until the first goal I’ve never felt so confident. I thought we had a big chance. But we gave the ball away cheaply for the first goal, which was a great strike from a fantastic young talent but a deflection changed the direction of the ball.
“We gave away a free-kick for the second goal, which was another deflection, and we didn’t deserve to be 2-0 down. Everton were edgy. The crowd was edgy and their play was edgy. Even at 3-1 with 10 minutes to go, I felt we had a chance because they are not full of confidence.”
That was true of Everton’s start and their latest careless finish to a game but Barkley’s contribution in between was a timely reminder of the midfielder’s rare talent. Roberto Martínez’s team also possessed a threat in front of goal that QPR could not match. Only 350 visiting supporters made the trek to Merseyside for a Monday night game and the suspension of Charlie Austin, the only striker to score away from home for Rangers this term, plus a staggering record of 13 points from the club’s last 40 games in the top flight, may have been additional factors for the low turn-out.
Barkley started in central midfield due to injury to James McCarthy, Darron Gibson and Leon Osman, plus Gareth Barry’s suspension, and relished the extra responsibility on the ball. It was only a few weeks ago that Martínez ruled out a central position for the England international, insisting it would be “a shame” to remove his creativity and explosive power from the final third. The midfielder’s response showed it does not have to be that way.
Having evaded Joey Barton in the centre circle and exchanged passes with Romelu Lukaku, the midfielder drove towards the left of the Rangers’ area before unleashing a powerful left-foot drive at Rob Green’s goal. The shot took a slight deflection off the back of Mauricio Isla and the pace of the shot left Green flailing as it found the top corner. It was the midfielder’s first goal since the memorable curler against Manchester City in May.
“It was a real joy to watch Ross tonight,” said Martínez. “It was an exceptional finish and he deserved that for the work he has done in training and for wanting to take responsibility in the game.”
A more generous deflection handed Everton a more comfortable lead. Barton was penalised for a foul on Naismith and, from the resulting free-kick, Mirallas’ shot struck Eduardo Vargas on the head and sailed beyond Green. The Belgium international was carried off on a stretcher in stoppage time with suspected ankle ligament damage following Jordon Mutch’s poor tackle.
Naismith headed in the third via Green’s fingertips and the face of Nedum Onuoha after the goalkeeper and Richard Dunne both made a hash of clearances and enabled Aiden McGeady to pick out the Scot with a delightful cross to the back post.
The substitute Bobby Zamora tapped in a late reply after Tim Howard parried Mutch’s shot into his path but the wait for an away result for QPR goes on. Their next league game away from Loftus Road is at Arsenal.
