On the back of two home wins, confidence was growing around the club. Tyler Dibling’s acquisition also provided a well-needed boost in the transfer market, so spirits were high as they faced a winless Wolves at Molineux. The home side had only won once in the month of August since returning to top-flight football. Vitaliy Mykolenko and Beto returned to the starting eleven, with the former making his comeback from injury in midweek against Mansfield.
Everton began brightly and showed plenty of intent in the early stages. It was a clear reflection of the differing levels of confidence: the home fans were evidently tetchy, while the Blues quickly took control on the pitch. After only seven minutes on the clock, Illiman Ndiaye danced past defenders on the left and found himself on the edge of the box. In space, he slid the ball towards Mykolenko, who picked out Jack Grealish unmarked with a delicate cross. His header, directed across goal, was met by the backtracking Beto. Only yards from the goal line, he couldn’t miss and gave the away side a deserved lead. As the travelling fans sang their number nine’s name, they saw their team in the ascendancy. Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall cynically dragged down Andre as he skipped past him and threatened to counter, but this was the only blot on the copybook in the opening twenty minutes.
Every Wolves attack seemed to be handled comfortably by the men in blue, until they broke down the right-hand side and found Marshall Munetsi. His teasing low cross was met by an onrushing Hwang Hee-Chan inside the box. His first-time strike was too powerful for the hapless Jordan Pickford, and Wolves were level. The effort flipped the atmosphere on its head, as Everton ceded control in a flash with an avoidable equaliser.
It was up to Everton to regain momentum, as Emmanuel Agbadou attempted an overhead kick from a corner, again lifting the noise from the home fans. Yet Grealish and Dewsbury-Hall looked to settle them, linking up well. Having spent much of his short time at the Blues providing for others, it was Grealish who was fed through on goal for Everton’s next chance to retake the lead. Dewsbury-Hall’s clever pass released the former Villa man, but his effort was parried by Jose Sa. Shortly after, Everton were able to find the net, with the roles reversed as Grealish slipped a reverse pass behind the Wolves defence towards Dewsbury-Hall’s run. His pull-back was cleverly left by Beto and finished by Ndiaye. With David Moyes no doubt relieved to have seen a second goal, the half-time whistle blew with Everton 45 minutes away from another three points.
If there were any doubts about a slow start to the half, perhaps sitting on their lead rather than killing the game, they were firmly put to bed as Everton pushed for a third straight after the restart. The net rippled once again after Ndiaye poked the ball towards the bottom corner, only for it to be disallowed for offside. Before the final pass, the ball had struck the arm of a defender inside the 18-yard box, but it wasn’t deemed enough to award a penalty. Those frustrations at being denied a third goal were short-lived, as Idrissa Gueye regained possession in the middle of the park and found Grealish in the Wolves half. With space to run into, a clever flicked pass allowed Dewsbury-Hall to charge towards the left corner of the box. While others may have turned and kept possession, the midfielder had other ideas, lashing the ball towards goal and kissing the bar on its way in.
The travelling supporters were in full voice as a commanding three points seemed certain, only for another hesitation in defence to allow Wolves back into the contest and set up a nervy finale. Conveniently named David Wolfe whipped a teasing ball across the box, and the Everton defence once again failed to clear their lines, paving the way for Rodrigo Gomes to score. With both goals conceded so avoidably, the prospect of throwing away victory after such a vibrant attacking display was becoming a real possibility.
Despite a late glaring opportunity for Wolves to spoil the party, Everton held on for their first away win of the campaign — an impressive five wins from six in the Premier League as they head into the first international break of the season.
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