Well that was a fairly incredible final half hour, especially given the tedium that preceded it. Everton looked down and out when they trailed 2-0 just before the hour. But then Romelu Lukaku decided to win the game and so Everton won the game. West Brom, still waiting for their first home win, will be kicking themselves after losing from such a commanding position. But Everton are fifth. Next for them? It’s the visit of Liverpool on Sunday. Thanks for reading and emailing. Night.
Full-time: West Brom 2-3 Everton
It’s over! Everton have won a surprisingly pulsating game!
90 min+5: West Brom win a corner, Funes Mori heading behind! Brunt sends it high to the far post. Howard comes and gets nowhere near the ball, it’s headed back across goal and despite the pressure, Everton get the ball away. They break with five on one but Deulofeu makes a hash of it the opportunity, his pass through to McCarthy a nonsense. But it doesn’t matter, because...
90 min+1: There will be a minimum of five minutes of stoppage time. Barkley celebrates the news by shooting when he should pass. He had so many options on the edge of the area there but he never got his head up. It’s a flaw he needs to eradicate.
90 min: Darron Gibson has a go from 30 yards. Nothing doing.
88 min: Romelu Lukaku, the Everton hero, is replaced by Aaron Lennon.
87 min: What a miss by Rickie Lambert! A low cross from the right falls to him inside the Everton area. He controls, swivels and then curls his shot wide from close range! It should be 3-3!
85 min: West Brom respond by bringing on Rickie Lambert for Claudio Yacob.
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GOAL! West Brom 2-3 Everton (Lukaku, 84 min)
The comeback is complete! What a response this has been from Everton and what an impact Romelu Lukaku has made! He’s scored two, made one and he may well have won the game for Everton from the most unlikely of positions. And hats off once again to Gerard Deulofeu, who has laid on the assists for both of Lukaku’s goals. He received the ball on the right flank and whipped a stunning ball into the six-yard box for Lukaku to attack. He got in front of Chester again and although the West Brom defender tried to do enough to put him off, the ball bounced off Lukaku and before Myhill could smother it, the big striker showed great desire and made sure by bundling it in from two yards out!
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82 min: Meanwhile...
Great day in the Yorshire Dales! pic.twitter.com/5rmjEf3eQh
— Sol Campbell (@SolManOfficial) September 28, 2015
78 min: This is Everton’s to lose now, writes Kevin Keegan.
GOAL! West Brom 2-2 Everton (Kone, 75 min)
And a minute later, Everton are level! What a comeback! Romelu Lukaku controls the ball on the right and holds off his marker, before bustling inside and prodding a cute ball through to Arouna Kone, who’s arguably 0.00000000000001 yards offside. The flag stays down and Kone, who’s only been on for three minutes, keeps his cool and slams the ball low to Myhill’s right with his right foot. He’s booked for sort of but not really removing his shirt as he celebrates.
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74 min: Brendan Galloway makes a crucial challenge to deny Berahino his second goal and West Brom a clinching third. James Morrison, who has been excellent tonight, hooked the ball into the middle from the left and Berahino had a clear sight of goal, 18 yards out. However he had to wait for the ball to come down before he could shoot, as it was at an awkward height, and that allowed Galloway to speed across and tackle him just when his team needed him most.
72 min: Everton make two substitutions, Darron Gibson replacing Tyias Browning and Arouna Kone on for the ineffective Steven Naismith.
70 min: James McCarthy is booked for diving! Romelu Lukaku steers a reverse pass through to McCarthy, who touches the ball away from Gardner before falling inside the area. Robert Madley blows his whistle and for a moment it looks like he had given a penalty. Not so: he’s spotted that Gardner didn’t touch McCarthy, who should be feeling pretty embarrassed.
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69 min: Craig Gardner, The Walking Frown, replaces Salomon Rondon.
67 min: Craig Gardner, a man who frowns even when he smiles, is coming on soon.
64 min: Ross Barkley and Romelu Lukaku stand over the ball. It’s in a central position, just outside the D. Before the free-kick is taken, Naismith is booked for pushing in the wall. This is getting feisty. Eventually Barkley takes it but his effort hits the wall and deflects away, the move ending with the flag going up for offside.
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62 min: This is all Everton now. Dawson goes through Naismith and Everton win a free-kick 20 yards from goal. The temperature is rising.
61 min: I’m struggling to explain this.
Scary looking glasses in West Brom crowd😭 pic.twitter.com/es6LFziWBd
— Crescendo (@crescendo_9) September 28, 2015
59 min: West Brom are rocking. Barkley plays Lukaku through down the middle but he’s stopped just in time. But at the expense of a corner, West Brom arguing unsuccessfully that the final touch came off Lukaku. In it comes from Barkley and Myhill punches it away.
57 min: Everton have found a new lease of life. The Deulofeu-Lukaku combination almost bears fruit again. Another cross is flung towards Lukaku, who makes a nuisance of himself again. This time he can’t connect cleanly with the ball but it loops on towards Galloway, who rushes in and sidefoots over from a tight angle.
GOAL! West Brom 2-1 Everton (Lukaku, 55 min)
West Brom drop their intensity level and Everton are allowed a way back in the game immediately! Gerard Deulofeu is granted too much space on the right and his teasing centre finds Lukaku, who bullies Chester and glances a fine header past Myhill! I told you this would be an entertaining half.
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GOAL! West Brom 2-0 Everton (Dawson, 54 min)
Craig Dawson doubles West Brom’s lead this time! Chris Brunt swings the corner to the far post and Craig Dawson loses Ross Barkley and heads it past Tim Howard from close range!
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53 min: Morrison slips another ball into the feet of Berahino. He wins a corner off Jagielka on the left and West Brom should double their lead. Berahino’s corner reaches Evans on the far side of the area and his cross towards the far post finds Fletcher unmarked. He stoops low but gets his bearings wrong with his diving header, the ball squirting off target. But it still has to be put behind for another corner, this time on the right. And...
52 min: Everton need a bit more urgency. “I’m always half-hoping that Pulis gets a crack at managing one of the big clubs,” says Kari Tulinius. “It would be interesting to see what he’d done with more resources at his disposal. Though I suspect that Manchester United’s underwhelming season under David Moyes has made it very unlikely for anyone in the second tier of established Premier League managers to be given the reins of a top four club. It would be seen as a risky move, and team owners are rarely risk takers.”
50 min: Barkley surges down the left, with space to run into. He attempts to curve a ball into the middle for Lukaku but Evans’s positioning is perfect. It’s a surprise there were no other takers for Evans, isn’t it?
47 min: Brunt picks Morrison out with an astute driven ball inside from the left. Morrison has a dig from 25 yards but it’s with his weaker left foot and the shot is easily blocked. However the ball runs to McClean, who pummels the ball over from 20 yards when he might have done better.
46 min: Everton get the ball rolling again. “To divert attention away from Ross Barkley for a moment - who I’d rather wasn’t put under too much pressure as I’m relying on him to rescue my fantasy league weekend - does anyone else think that Romelu Lukaku’s regression is even more of a worry?” says Matt Loten. “In his first couple of seasons away from Chelsea I thought it was only a matter of time before he was back at the top. That first season at Everton, in particular, he was unplayable at times. In their 3-0 win over Arsenal his pace and power was frightening. Since then, his touch has more often than not resembled that of a particularly hard brick wall, his ability to spin defenders has gone AWOL, and his consistency in front of goal has shown little improvement. Admittedly, the lad’s still young, but for 30-ish million I expected a lot more.”
Half-time: West Brom 1-0 Everton
It’s just as well West Brom held on to Saido Berahino, isn’t it? But dearie me, watching that was hard work. Let’s hope for more entertainment after the break, something I say more out of hope than expectation.
45 min+1: Everton are pressing strongly for an equaliser. Deulofeu terrifies Brunt into submission and bursts past the West Brom man with ease on the right, before drilling a low cross into the six-yard box. It beats Myhill but somehow a West Brom defender stubborns the ball away.
44 min: This is a good chance for Everton. One corner becomes two corners and Barkley’s driven delivery is nutted over the bar by Browning from six yards out.
43 min: Everton look to respond immediately but Naismith’s shot from the right is shovelled behind by Myhill. A corner for Everton.
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GOAL!!! West Brom 1-0 Everton (Berahino, 41 min)
Saido Berahino reinforces his status as a West Brom legend by scoring his second goal in two Premier League matches, but this was so avoidable from Everton’s perspective. Tim Howard had the ball and he rolled it out to Funes Mori. He decided to have an amble down the left flank, overran the ball and had his pocket pinched. From there, Gareth Barry knocks the ball straight to Morrison, who spots Berahino’s dart inside from the left. His clever ball through was judged to perfection - very Bergkamp and Ljungberg - and Berahino was able to speed clear of Browning and clip the ball over the advancing Howard. That is a classic Roberto Martinez goal to concede.
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39 min: Barkley’s cross from the left falls on the roof of the net. The commentators are suggesting that it was a shot but it would have been from a ludicrous angle if it was. “Further to the discussion about young midfielders improving their decision making - I remember when Steven Gerrard was young, he charged about the field with no heed to the shape of the team, and constantly played over-ambitious passes rather than keeping possession,” says Shaun Wilkinson. “But as he got older he...erm...sorry, I didn’t think that one through.”
37 min: Funes Mori shoots 25 yards wide from 25 yards out. This, whatever it is supposed to be, for it hardly resembles football at the moment, is increasingly dismal. “Is Yacob the angriest player in football outside of that David Squire’s character who plays upfront for Chelsea?” wonders Ian Copestake. “Something about the stubble perhaps.”
35 min: For all my praise of Tony Pulis earlier, this quote from Alex Neil comes to mind: “Football is an entertainment sport. I go to watch football to be entertained and see good players doing good things. I have that in my team and I want to see them entertain. As a fan you don’t go to see teams grinding it out.” There is a lot of grinding at The Hawthorns at the moment.
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34 min: West Brom shout loudly for a free-kick on the right, Naismith seeming to foul Fletcher. An advantage is played and Dawson’s fizzing cross is diverted behind for a corner. Will anything occur? The answer is no.
29 min: Ross Barkley wastes a glorious chance to give Everton the lead. They spring forward superbly and on the right Deulofeu prises apart the reconfigured West Brom defence by sliding a sublime ball into the middle for Barkley. He’s all of eight yards from goal and should score, but incredibly he gets his feet in a horrible mess, attempting to open his body up to steer the ball past Myhill with his left foot, only to send it wide with a horrible and comical miskick, much to the crowd’s amusement and Deulofeu’s bemusement, the Everton winger flinging his arms in the air, unable to believe his good work went to waste.
28 min: In the most significant moment of the first half so far, James Chester replaces Jonas Olsson. That says something, doesn’t it? “Right, I’m there,” says Tom Levesley. “Have I missed much?” No.
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26 min: Jonas Olsson attempts to tackle Lukaku in the centre circle and immediately falls to the turf injured. There was no contact with Lukaku, instead a slip appeared to do the damage. James Chester is getting ready to come on.
23 min: Claudio Yacob concedes a free-kick on the right, not too far outside the area. Barkley skelps a low bouncer through the mass of legs and right across the face of goal. Lukaku has a whiff of the ball at the far post but the pace of the cross beats him.
22 min: Naismith wins Everton’s first corner on the left. Barkley’s delivery is underhit. “To answer your question about Barkley with a series of pretty uninteresting questions: are there good examples of players who are indecisive dawdlers early on who go on to be the heartbeat of a midfield, or better?” says Drew Gough. “Was Xavi making those kind of infuriating mistakes as a whippersnapper? At what age is a footballing brain matured? Probably not at 16 or whatever young Ross is.” I suspect that Xavi and Iniesta made better decisions when they were Barkley’s age. So too Pirlo. Obviously I’m not saying Barkley has to be as good as them. It’s just chitter chatter.
19 min: A corner for West Brom. They’re able to do bugger all with it and Everton break with pace and numbers for the first time. For the first time, there is space, glorious space. Deulofeu jabs a pass to Lukaku, who sweeps it out to Barkley on the right. West Brom are in trouble. Or at least that’s how it seems. But things aren’t as they seem. Barkley runs at Olsson, trying to push him back into the area, but the defender stands up brilliantly to him, guides him away from goal and wins the ball.
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17 min: Barry scoops another hopeful pass forward towards Lukaku. It should be easy for Evans to cut out but a momentary loss of concentration sees the ball drift beyond him and through to Lukaku. Fortunately for Evans, Lukaku can’t capitalise on his mistake, the ball squirting off his boot and behind for a goal-kick.
14 min: Roberto Martinez sometimes sounds like he thinks Ross Barkley will go on to be the best midfielder in the world? What do you make of him? He’s clearly got oodles of talent and can be wonderfully decisive, but there are times when he hangs on to the ball too much and he does make a lot of wrong decisions. There’s plenty of room for improvement.
12 min: Everton probe for a while on the edge of the West Brom area. They don’t really go anywhere, other than down several dead ends. West Brom are organised.
9 min: The first shot of the evening comes from James Morrison. His firm effort from 25 yards is straight at Tim Howard, who isn’t overly troubled.
8 min: Barry hooks a pass forward to Lukaku, who spins and tries to run away from Evans. The former Manchester United defender does well to scamper back and stop Lukaku racing away from him.
6 min: “Can you ask them to hang on a minute?” says Tom Levelsey. “I’ve got to get the kids to bed and wait for my partner to get home before I can get out to the pub. Tell them I won’t be long.” I’m afraid they’re already off, Tom. Is your partner not back? How inconsiderate.
4 min: Berahino’s corner is headed away. It’s headed back to him. His cross is towards Rondon, but the flag goes up for offside against the big West Brom striker.
3 min: West Brom look sharp, snapping into challenges. Morrison charges in to win the ball on the right flank and his pass inside is deflected behind for a corner.
2 min: It turns out West Brom are set up more cautiously than initially advertised. Saido Berahino is playing on the left side of midfield, with Salomon Rondon on his own up front. “I noticed Funes Muri kissed one of the WBA players instead of shaking his hand - presumably another South American,” says Peter Crosby. “Just wondered - is the pre game handshake in South American games just everyone kissing each other?”
And we’re off! West Brom, in their blue and white stripes, get the game underway, kicking from left to right in the first half. Everton are resplendent in blue. They win the ball within 20 seconds.
Here come the teams! Soon there will be football. There is always football. But first, some handshakes and pleasantries. How do you do? Yeah not bad mate, you? Yeah I’m all right thanks. Okay, good game pal.
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“I think West Brom may smell blood with Stones missing and Funes Mori coming in,” says Shaun Wilkinson. “Martinez’s commitment to open football makes his teams fun to watch, but he does have a soft spot for a dodgy South American defender, as his incredible double-purchase of Antolin Alcaraz proved.”
To be fair to me, and also to Funes Mori, I do know nothing about him. He might be good!
Everton are without three of their first choice back four. John Stones has a knee injury and is replaced by Ramiro Funes Mori, while Leighton Baines and Seamus Coleman are still out. Will West Brom’s forwards fancy themselves against that defence? Rondon and Berahino are two handy players. Then again Everton have Ross Barkley behind Romelu Lukaku up front and that has been a very good combination so far this season.
The teams!
West Brom, with Saido Berahino in: Myhill; Dawson, Olsson, Evans, Brunt; Morrison, Fletcher, Yacob, McClean; Rondon, Berahino. Subs: Chester, Gardner, Anichebe, Lambert, McManaman, Lindegaard, Gnabry.
Everton, minus John Stones: Howard; Browning, Funes Mori, Jagielka, Galloway; McCarthy, Barry; Deulofeu, Barkley, Naismith; Lukaku. Subs: Robles, Gibson, McGeady, Oviedo, Kone, Lennon, Osman.
Referee: Robert Madley (West Yorkshire)
Preamble
Hello. Tony Pulis once gave me a pat on the back. I’m still not sure whether it made me 10 feet taller - maybe he was impressed with my routine question about Glenn Murray’s fitness - or whether I was worried that he was going to follow it up with a Pulisistic headlock, but the memory has stayed with me nonetheless and it comes to mind now given the way that Pulis has handled the Saido Berahino transfer saga. That story about Pulis coming to blows with James Beattie in the Stoke dressing room in 2009 means that he has sometimes been portrayed as someone who you cross at your peril, an old school disciplarian with a touch of the sadist about him, but perhaps there is more nuance to him than the no-nonsense reputation that has been attributed to him.
Certainly it would not have been a surprise if he had ostracised Berahino when the West Brom striker lost the run of himself on Twitter after his prospective move to Tottenham fell through on deadline day. But Pulis once rehabilitated Jermaine Pennant and Matthew Etherington, and instead of cutting off his nose to spite his face, he lamented the folly of youth and the madness of the transfer window, put an arm round Berahino’s shoulder and was rewarded when the youngster nabbed West Brom’s winner against Aston Villa last week, completing his rollercoaster journey from hero to zero and all the way back again in the eyes of the club’s supporters. Tony Pulis: people person. A caring man. A gentle man. A modern man. Isn’t life full of little surprises?
Perhaps you would feel more comfortable seeing those descriptions applied to Roberto Martinez, a manager so modern that it cannot be long before we see him standing atop a hoverboard in the technical area. It’s fair to say that Martinez and Pulis are managers with different images and a clash of styles awaits us when West Brom and Everton lock horns at The Hawthorns this evening. Martinez is the relentlessly positive one who rarely has a bad word to say about anything other than Chelsea’s pursuit of John Stones. Everton’s manager sees the good in everything and everyone - unless it’s a Chelsea suit making a derisory offer for John Stones - and is renowned for his commitment to playing attractive football at all times, even if it occasionally gets his teams into trouble at the back, whereas Pulis’s willingness to make a game as ugly as possible is never going to win him admiring glances from neutrals.
But people have hidden depths and Pulis’s understanding of what makes a footballer tick is why he remains successful, relatively speaking, in the Premier League. Martinez is beginning to look like the future once again after losing his way a little last season, Pulis is no dinosaur: he has done a predictably fine and predictable job at West Brom since taking over in January and a victory tonight would move them three points clear of minnows Chelsea and into eighth place. But a win for Everton will lift them into fifth place. Martinez and Pulis? They both have their uses, don’t they?
Kick-off: 8pm BST.
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