Everton match verdict as Joe Thomas reports on 2-1 home defeat to Luton Town in the Premier League
Halfway through the second half there was a break in play as Jarrad Branthwaite and Carlton Morris received treatment on the pitch.
Yet as Morris and Branthwaite were given attention there was little sign of a plot unfolding on the pitch. There were plenty of hands on hips. Only Amadou Onana went to the touchline to speak with club staff. And it showed. When play resumed nothing changed. A disjointed, panicked conclusion was full of hard work but few real chances. It was too easy for a side many have already condemned to the Championship to break up and disrupt and predict what Everton sent their way.
Seven minutes later shock turned to disbelief as Morris, a persistent threat, drifted unmarked to the back post and smashed in from a free-kick. It was another troubling reminder of the difficulty this side appears to have when defending the dead ball. Questions will be asked about whose responsibility it was to formulate a plan to stop the joy Luton had already found from set pieces - at both Finch Farm and on the pitch.
That should have been the turning point. Against Brentford last week, the authority and maturity that Everton started the second half with made the difference. It felt like a watershed moment for a side that, as Dyche was justified to say in his post-match comments in west London, had performed well without reward in several early games of the season. When that league win was followed by a stunning Carabao Cup victory at Aston Villa, Everton threatened sustained progress.
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