Premier League 2, First Division 2019-20
       The Pure Stadium, Haig Lane,Southport
          Friday 22nd November 2019, 7pm

            EVERTON     v    SPURS
         (Blue/White)     (White/Blue)
            4-2-3-1         4-1-4-1

              1(0)            3(2)

          Harry Tyrer   1   Joshua Oluwayemi
           Alex Denny   2   Timothy Eyoma(C)
            Kyle John   3   Tariq Hinds
        Tyler Onyango   4   Harvey White
          Ryan Astley   5   Malachi Walcott
       Matthew Foulds   6   Luis Binks
      Dennis Adeniran   7   Dilan Markanday
       Antony Evans(C)  8   Tashan Oakley-Boothe
           Ellis Sims   9   Rodel Richards
   Nathangelo Markelo  10   Armando Shashoua
       Harry Charsley  11   Shilow Tracey

         Joe Anderson  12   Phoenix Patterson
                            (7)79Mins
       Nicolas Hansen  13   Jonathan De Bie
       Con Ouzounidis  14   Maurizio Pochettino
            (3)23Mins       (9)79Mins
      Manasse Mampala  15   Jubril Okedina
            (4)46Mins
                       16   Brooklyn Lyons-Foster
                            (3)88Mins

Scorers:-
          Adeniran 83       Markanday 4
                            Shashoua 42, 54

Booked:-
     Charsley 57(UGC)       Richards 57(UGC)
     Adeniran 66(Foul)      White 63(Late) 

Coaches:-
       David Unsworth       Wayne Burnett

Attendance:– 128

Referee:– Andrew Miller
Assistants:– Jack Forder & Paul Stonier
Fourth Official:– Darius Bradley 

Spurs travelled to a wet and cold north-west to face the current champions Everton who thrashed Spurs 6-0 last season at Goodison Park on their way to the title. They are not doing so well this season losing their last game at this level 2-1 to Liverpool in the Merseyside derby. Spurs came into this game having lost their own derby game 3-1 to Arsenal to remain two points behind the "Toffees".

Spurs lined up with Oluwayemi making a first start in goal behind Walcott and Binks with Eyoma at right back and Hinds on the left. White anchored the midfield with Oakley-Boothe and Shashoua ahead of him. They were flanked by Markanday on the right and Tracey on the left in support of Richards up front.

Spurs kicked off attacking the West end in the first half and were lucky not to be a goal down in the first minute when Charsley got down the left to cross for Simms to fire over with the whole of the goal in his sights. The hosts paid for that miss as Tracey got down the left and put in a low cross that Tyrer failed to hold. The ball found its way to the far post for a simple finish by Markanday.

Richards had a chance that was wide before Everton had to make an early change. Evans drew a good save from Oluwayemi with a free kick before Hinds whipped in a cross from the left that was headed wide by Markanday. The Spurs wideman got to the ball just ahead of Foulds with both players needing treatment for the clash of heads. Markanday thankfully recovered okay and played in Oakley-Boothe to fire wide. Oakley-Boothe got in through the right channel to square the ball for Shashoua to score Spurs' second goal attacking the far post. Evans fired wide for a corner before the break.

Everton made a change for the start of the second half to try and get into the game but Spurs came close to increasing their lead when Shashoua had an effort saved in the opening minute. Tracey had a chance blocked when played in by Hinds' run and the Everton defence had more blocks to keep out Spurs until Shashoua played in Richards for a chance that was saved by Tyrer. Shashoua carried on to net the loose ball for his second and Spurs third.

There was a flare-up started between Richards and Charsley that saw both players booked to spoil the evening. Simms won a corner with an effort that was wide as Everton began to get more into the game. White was booked for catching Markelo late while Adeniran also went into the ref's book for a foul in the build-up to Tracey drawing a save from Tyrer.

The game was opening up with Charsley drawing a save at one end and Oakley-Boothe having a shot blocked at the other. After Mampala fired over, Shashoua saw his effort blocked and Markanday's follow up was also blocked. Spurs made a double change with Pochettino replacing Richards and Patterson for Markanday. Tracey went up front with Patterson going to the left flank and Pochettino to the right.

Everton pulled a goal back when Adeniran hit a snap shot from the edge of the area into the left corner to give the home side some hope. Markelo drew a save from Oluwayemi and Mampala headed wide. Hinds had a knock and was replaced by Lyons-Foster as Spurs settled for what they had with Everton trying to force the issue. Oluwayemi was called on to save from Evan's header while Mampala fired wide having been played in by Simms. Oluwayemi saved a header by Simms for a corner and sub Mampala headed over from the last corner of the match.

This was a very good performance from Spurs who out-played Everton for much of the game in contrast to many of their games so far this season when they struggled to play their passing game. The passing of White early in the game was so good that Everton put a man on him to try and stop him without success, but all the players did well on the night. Spurs go above Everton and next in their sights are Liverpool who are just two points ahead of them. The "Reds" are unbeaten in their last five but Spurs began the season with a 4-0 victory over them. That game will be at Hotspur Way on Friday 6th December at 12 noon.

Ray

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