The ECHO looks back on some of the moments missed from the Blues’ second pre-season friendly
Everton fell to defeat at Blackburn Rovers with a display that had all the hallmarks of early pre-season.
The Blues lacked energy and coherence against their Championship opposition, who rarely looked in danger of losing the early lead given to them by the back post finish of new signing Dion De Neve. Had it not been for the excellence of Everton’s own new boy, Mark Travers, the scoreline could well have been worse.
As tame as Everton’s performance may have been, this was not an afternoon that passed without talking points, however.
READ MORE: Everton transfer issues cannot be ignored as collective injury wince exposes big problemREAD MORE: Everton player ratings as Idrissa Gueye and Iliman Ndiaye good but more struggle in Blackburn loss
Things get spicy in the middle
This may have been a friendly but there was some needle in this match, sparked by a first half coming together between the captains. Idrissa Gueye, in his first minutes of pre-season, caught Rovers’ Lewis Travers late – prompting outrage from the summer addition at Ewood Park. He ended up grabbing the Senegal international around the throat – which led to Beto rampaging back to shove him from behind.
The incident was a shock to what had been a placid affair and left both players involved furious – they continued to bicker long after referee Anthony Backhouse dished out a pair of yellow cards. Beto was fortunate to avoid a similar fate.
Boos for Everton wingers past, present and possibly future
While Gueye took the ire of Travers, it was Dwight McNeil who was the target of the home supporters – every touch was met with a chorus of boos due to his connections to arch rivals Burnley.
McNeil was not the only one to be subjected to such treatment on Saturday. Jack Harrison spent the last two seasons on loan at Everton from Leeds United and a return to the Blues this summer has not been ruled out. His absence from his parent club through their efforts to return to the Premier League has been a source of anger in Yorkshire – hence the boos that greeted his name when it was read out from the starting line-up as Leeds faced Manchester United in the Swedish capital, Stockholm.
Jake O’Brien taunted by pitch invaders
On the final whistle, Everton centre back Jake O’Brien had to deal with jeers directed his way. As the players walked towards the tunnel two young home supporters managed to leap onto the pitch and sprint across towards their heroes. One young fan passed O’Brien around the halfway line and, as she did, wheeled around into his line of sight, spread her arms and gestured with two thumbs down towards the defeated Republic of Ireland international.
Everton abandon new kit premiere
It was just one of those days for Everton. Things were going wrong before the squad even arrived for the match. The Blues were due to debut their new pastel yellow away kit at Blackburn, having released it on Thursday.
Those plans were scuppered by Rovers’ own promotional campaign though. The club has just released its own away shirt and announced they would wear the gold top for this fixture – forcing Everton to abandon their initial plans.
New CEO given food for thought
You have to wonder what new CEO Angus Kinnear made of it all. The former Leeds chief was present in the directors’ box to watch Everton fall to defeat. He had a long chat with David Moyes in the tunnel entrance after the players had finished their warm down and, after that display, can have little doubt that some reinforcements are needed to help the club progress on the pitch.