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Everton make routine work of struggling Terriers

Lyndon Lloyd Saturday, 28 April, 2018 0comments  |  Jump to most recent
Huddersfield Town 0 - 2 Everton

Cenk Tosun set the Toffees on their way with a nice finish six minutes before half-time

Everton won away from home for only the third time in the Premier League this season as a goal in each half was enough to beat relegation-threatened Huddersfield Town.

Cenk Tosun handed the Blues a half-time advantage when he struck their first shot on target at the end of a counter-attack that caught their hosts cold six minutes before the interval.

Idrissa Gueye then sealed the game 13 minutes from time when he finished off Everton's best move of the match with a crisp drive from the edge of the box following good work by Oumar Niasse.

Both Morgan Schneiderlin and Leighton Baines were passed fit to play but Sam Allardyce made one change from the side that started against Newcastle last Monday when he selected Nikola Vlasic ahead of Yannick Bolasie.

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Desperately in need of a victory to virtually guarantee another season of Premier League football with three difficult assignments against top-six sides to end their campaign, Huddersfield set about controlling the match in the first half but the contest was largely uneventful for the first half hour.

Steve Mounie prompted a routine save from Jordan Pickford in the 17th minute and Rajiv van La Parra swept a decent chance over from 18 yards with half an hour gone but the home side generally lacked quality and were picked off by an Everton counter-attack as half-time approached.

Theo Walcott collected an intercepted pass in the middle of the park and threaded a pass through to Tosun that the Turk controlled and then drove a low shot inside the far post of Jonas Lossl's goal.

Vlasic had a shot saved seconds into the second half as Everton looked to increase their lead before Seamus Coleman sprung the offside trap from a Baines free kick but his tame side-foot shot was comfortably saved.

Huddersfield's attempts to force an equaliser left them vulnerable when they lost the ball going forward and Everton almost punished them with a tidy piece of play that ended with Vlasic back-heeling into the path of Coleman overlapping in the penalty area and Lossl making a crucial save with his leg to deny the Irishman.

Terriers substitute Philip Billing had a volley deflected behind before Alex Pritchard made a mess of a tempting centre from Van La Parra at one end while Everton squandered a succession of chances to kill the home side off with poor touches on the break.

They got the killer second goal in the 77th minute, however. Niasse, on for Tosun, showed determination near the corner flag to eventually chip a deep cross over that fell to Baines on the other side. He unselfishly laid the ball off to Gueye who had plenty of time to set himself for a shot that he despatched past Lossl.

Christopher Schindler missed a free header and Scott Malone saw a gilt-edged chance deflect over right at the end as Huddersfield vainly tried to find a way back into the game but the Blues held on for the clean sheet and three points that ensure they will finish in the top half of the table this season.

 

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