Blackburn Rovers vs Everton Match Preview
Blackburn Rovers have signed Senegalese striker Mame Biram Diouf on loan from Manchester United. He’s Rovers’ only signing of the new season to date.
Having finished a solid mid-table 10th in last season’s campaign, and with Diouf their only signing, it’s difficult to imagine Sam Allardyce’s men doing anything significantly better in the upcoming campaign than they did in the last. Yet Allardyce has suggested he will be looking to further strengthen his squad as the new season looms.
Everton suffered through a poor first half of the season last year but in the second half seemed to re-capture some measure of the fine form they had demonstrated the previous season.
Yet the season-ending ankle injury to Marouane Fellaini in the Liverpool derby in February certainly dampened spirits around Goodison Park, and did their aspirations toward an upper echelon finish no favors.
Though Fellaini is certainly talismanic with his frizzy ‘do, he is also a fine player providing the Toffees with a solid defensive and attacking option in the midfield. But Everton are rich in midfield talent with Tim Cahill and Steven Pienaar pestering opposition defenses, while Mikel Arteta has signed a new 5-year deal.
England international defender Phil Jagielka will return following a lengthy injury spell last season and he, along with American goalkeeper Tim Howard, will provide stability at the back. That is, if he doesn’t get snapped up by a bigger fish before the close of the transfer window. Arsenal is rumored to be lurking.
Up front the Toffees have signed striker Jermaine Beckford, hero of Leeds’ shock FA Cup win over Manchester United last season.
Blackburn Rovers vs Everton Match Report
Everton manager David Moyes rightly attributed his team’s loss to Blackburn Rovers on Saturday to “one small thing.” That small thing was a game-deciding blunder by Everton goalie Tim Howard at the quarter hour mark.
The American keeper raced off his line to intercept the ball, and then somehow managed to spill it at the feet of Nikola Kalinic, who spun and hit it first time inside the far post.
Everton were ineffective in their efforts to retaliate and it wasn’t until the final fifteen minutes of the match that the Toffees looked able to mount a sustained attacking effort.
The match saw the introduction of two young starlets: Everton striker Jermaine Beckford, who in Leeds’ colors last year dispatched Manchester United from the FA Cup, and Blackburn Rovers’ striker Mame Biram Diouf, who is on loan from Manchester United.
Still, the home team’s defense was little troubled, although Rovers’ goalkeeper Paul Robinson did well to stop Phil Jagielka’s injury time shot and thus maintain their lead.
Blackburn Rovers 1-0 Everton
