Match Summary

A more interesting starting line-up than Birmingham, with Mucha in goal, Heitinga in midfield along with Barkley, and Beckford up front with Anichebe doing his wingman thing...  Rodwell was missing with an infection that has seen him miss a couple of games now.

After some possessive stuff as Everton settled,  WB were much more direct on their first attack. 

Heitinga went done on his ankle inside 4 mins, and looked rather unhappy, but he walked off well enough, and came back on a few minutes later.

There was lots of nice confident sensible play from Barkley who got fouled and it looked like a penalty but nothing given. 

Baines won a good free-kick running in from the left, and Baines drifted it in a little too slow, easy to defend.

Barkley was really starting to impose himself in the middle of the park, driving the Blues forward.

As Bremen started to get more of a hold of the game, Sandro Wagner then missed an unbelievable chance, heading wide from 2 yards out with Mucha well beaten on a good cross from the right that easily beat Baines. Bremen ran through the porous Everton defence but the shot was straight at Mucha.

Wagner missed another before somehow bundling in the first goal off his head after completely missing the ball.  Sunday League defending from the Mighty Blues. An other incisive move from WB so nearly set up a second for Wagner as Everton rocked.  

At halftime. Saha & Howard came on for Anichebe and Mucha.  Meanwhile Bremen made three changes and they continued to press forward with pace, giving Howard a good bedding in. 

Everton were largely unimpressive going forward, and painfully skittish in defence and it needed a timely intervention by Jags to stop a certain second goal for Bremen.

Baines got an undeserved chance with a free-kick that was driven poorly into the wall but the follow-up was an excellent drive the keeper did well to punch away on the stretch.

Vellios then came on for Heitinga.  But Rossenberg got through the middles of the Everton defence with just Howard to beat but he fired wide... shocking defending.

Coleman won a good free-kick on a run down the right channel, and Neville this time played it square to Baines who struck it hard from distance.

It was probably an okay run-out but was hardly the competitive challenge most fans insist that Everton's pre-season consists of... in truth at times Everton were typically poor going forward, lacking any meaningful invention, while the defense had more than their fair share of the workout. 

Michael Kenrick

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