Season › 2013-14 › News Martinez reveals tactical shift behind United win Lyndon Lloyd , 21 April, 0comments | Jump to most recent Roberto Martinez says he was pleased with how well his players adapted to a more counter-attacking approach against Manchester United, saying that letting the opposition have the ball was all part of the plan. Unusually for a team that that has made dominance of possession and selfish control of the ball a hallmark of Martinez's first season in charge, Everton purposefully allowed David Moyes's side to believe they were dictating the contest before picking them off on the break. The result was two goals, albeit one via the penalty spot after Phil Jones's handball, and with better finishing from the otherwise impressive Steven Naismith, it might have been more. "We had to be patient," the Catalan said. "Psychologically it was a tough game for us because it was the first time this season we gave the ball to the opposition. "Overall, it's fair to say we had the better chances and they had the ball. We were quite happy for them to have it and we were quite happy knowing how to use it to our advantage. "If we'd needed to get on the ball and break them down, we would have done that. Today was about adapting to what needed to be done." Martinez acknowledged that his players made the shift in tactics look a lot more effortless than it was and he was impressed with the way they went about their task. "Throughout this season, we've been a team that gets on the ball and breaks teams down," he continued. "Today it was important we knew how to use the counter-attack. It's not straight-forward; carrying a threat on the counter-attack is a very different thing. "We were very dynamic and I enjoyed our performance today." Quotes sourced from Evertonfc.com About these ads © ToffeeWeb