Everton v West Brom 2015

          Everton and West Brom both desperately needed the points today. Just one point separated the two sides in the table prior to kick off, and are both dangerously close to the relegation zone. That is what made the game such an important one. The odds were strongly in Everton's favour, with West Brom winning just one of their previous fifteen visits to Goodison Park. However, West Brom could not be under estimated. With Tony Pulis at the helm they are now a far more organised side. The home fans had to be patient with their team. Everyone was expecting the Baggies to travel to Merseyside tonight and be a well disciplined side, and that is exactly what they were.

         As you would expect from Everton, they started off controlling the game and keeping the ball for prolonged periods of time with little pressure from West Brom to close them down. Everton's ever threatening full backs, Coleman and Baines looked keen to get forward on every occasion and were the most threatening players on the pitch in the first half. In the opening ten minutes, West Brom had hardly touched the ball, let alone ventured in to Everton's half. The Toffee's continued to ask questions of West Brom's back line, but as you would expect from a Pulis team, they were resilient, and kept their shape well, rarely making mistakes. Everton turned up the tempo and created a number of chances, but Foster was more than capable of dealing with what was thrown at him. Eventually the pressure payed off. Just a few minutes before half time, Everton were awarded a penalty for a clumsy handball by Lescott. Mirallas stepped up, and rattled the post, much to the frustration of the Everton faithful. The teams went into the break all square.

          The second half continued just as the first had ended. Everton were relentless. There was no patient passing around the back, they drove at West Brom with purpose, and it seemed only a matter of time before Everton claimed the lead they deserved. However, far too often the final ball was simply not good enough from Everton. Despite all of their attacking, Ben Foster always seemed comfortable, and it helped him massively that the defence that stood in front of him was solid. While the fans stuck with Everton for the majority of the match, they became increasingly anxious, almost angry at the fact that their team were not comfortably winning this game. It seemed to just not be Everton's day, regardless of what they threw at West Brom. The game ended with the home fans booing and Roberto Martinez looking very frustrated.
          The West Brom defence could not be breached by Everton today. A point does not really help either side and they both still have a lot of work to do. However this draw is certainly more valuable for West Brom than it is for Everton, as you would expect that come May, West Brom would be in the relegation dog fight, and Everton will have sorted things out. Martinez will certainly see this as two points dropped, but it was a point nonetheless. West Brom showed the sort of fight tonight that Palace did last season under Tony Pulis, and I believe he will guide them to safety. As for Everton, they need to get over this bad spell. They have a lot of games to play, due to their Europa League qualification, and must be more efficient in games such as this, where they really should have bagged all three points.