The victory was Everton’s second in a row, though they had to do it the hard way following Iliman Ndiaye’s first-half penalty goal, having had just 15.5% of the ball in the second half and registering one shot
Everton head coach David Moyes acknowledged that the nerves got to him during Everton’s 1-0 victory away to Brighton in the Premier League on Saturday. (More Football News)
The victory was Everton’s second in a row, though they had to do it the hard way following Iliman Ndiaye’s first-half penalty goal, having had just 15.5% of the ball in the second half and registering one shot.
Defender James Tarkowski backed up what Moyes said, admitting that his nerves were so bad that he couldn’t even watch Ndiaye’s penalty.
“I was nervous [for the penalty]. I didn’t even watch. I don’t know how it went in but I don’t care,” he told Premier League Productions.
“Calm and collected, that is what we expect of him [Ndiaye]. We’ve not scored loads, we got a few last week, so it is nice to get one whichever way it comes.
“We got the goal, defended well and we knew that the second half was going to be tough. We have seen them come back against Man City and other teams here which shows how good they are.
“We have been resilient, grinded it out with ten men for 10-15 minutes or so, and everyone from the front of the pitch to the back played their part. Very proud of the lads. Let’s move on and go again.
“We did deal with it [Brighton’s threat] and it hasn’t always been that way this year. We have given leads away and gifted teams goals at times but today was a real team performance. The fans can enjoy their trip home because it has been tough at times, they can enjoy that one.”
Brighton head coach Fabian Hurzeler, meanwhile, was critical of his own team’s inability to break the opposition down and the referee.
The Seagulls lost for the first time in seven Premier League games (won two, drawn four before today), bringing an end to what was their longest unbeaten run in a single season since December 2021 and February 2022 (a run of seven).
“We played against a very disciplined team. We weren’t clean enough in the first half and didn’t force it enough. We did not have good box positioning and then we faced an opponent who tried to break the rhythm all the time. Then it’s very difficult,” he told BBC Match of the Day.
“When the referee says that he won’t send a player off for time-wasting that says it all really. I don’t understand. When the rules are like this then you could send someone off. The referees should use it.
“We are honest with each other, self-critical and that is why we have to keep working. Next game we will analyse what went wrong, what we have to improve and keep going.”
The Toffees also finished the game with 10 men after Orel Mangala went off with an injury in the 83rd minute despite the visitors having used all three substitution windows.
Brighton, meanwhile, managed 12 shots on goal in the second half, but could only get one of them on target.
“My heart has still not settled after that,” said Moyes, speaking to BBC Radio 5 Live.
“It ended up a great result for us. Really important for us, we are too close to the bottom. A lot of belief coming back. Brighton put us to the sword, but we got the goal that mattered.”
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