Everton 0-1 Wolves: Things go from bad to worse for Toffees as late Sasa Kalajdzic strike earns Gary O’Neil his first win to leave Sean Dyche’s side bottom of the Premier League
Everton 0-1 Wolves: Things go from bad to worse for Toffees as Sasa Kalajdzic’s late strike earns Gary O’Neil his first win and leaves Sean Dyche’s side bottom of the Premier League
- Wolves secured their first win of the season thanks to Sasa Kalajdzic’s late goal
- Everton have now lost all three of their opening games without scoring a goal
- Sean Dyche’s team missed a number of chances to open the score
Wolves substitute Sasa Kalajdzic hit dominant Everton with a later sucker-punch just two minutes into his arrival at Goodison Park.
The giant six-foot Austrian headed home Pedro Neto’s cross with a header after 87 minutes, giving the visitors their first win of the season and leaving Everton bottom of the table without a goal or point.
It was harsh justice for Sean Dyche’s men who had wasted a number of chances in a game where both goalkeepers made excellent saves.
The mood among the Evertonians was sombre and resigned rather than toxic in the dying minutes, with many fans leaving even as their team chased the equalizer in five minutes of stoppage time. The stragglers greeted the final whistle with boos.
Dyche made some big decisions following the 4-0 thrashing at Aston Villa last weekend.
Sasa Kalajdzic earned Wolves all three points with his first goal for the club after 87 minutes
The giant striker was only two minutes on the field when he scored the winning goal
He headed home in what was a sucker for the Toffees, who wasted many chances
The victory for Wolves is Gary O’Neil’s first since taking charge of the club this summer
Michael Keane made way for England under-21 international Jarrad Branthwaite after his horror display, while 20-year-old Lewis Dobbin was called up for his first Premier League start.
At Wolves, Manchester City goalkeeper Matheus Nunes was missing due to suspension.
Horace Danjuma took on the role of Dominic Calvert-Lewin in the center and was only a piece of cake from an early breakthrough when he narrowly missed Nathan Patterson’s cross.
Danjuma then saw his shot tipped onto the post by Sa. The assistant flagged for offside, but a review would have been interesting if he had scored.
Everton remembered Michael Jones, the fan who recently died working at the club’s new Bramley-Dock Moor stadium.
A large banner reading ‘Forever in our Hearts’ was unfurled before kick-off and after 26 minutes applause rang out around Goodison to mark his age.
Everton were almost inspired. The fans were still clapping when Garner’s shot was parried by Sa and James Tarkowski grabbed the rebound.
Dyche’s side finished the half strongly, with Branthwaite and Garner getting close and Wolves making a substitution in the interval, with Rayan replacing Ait-Nouri Hwang, who had crashed painfully into a cameraman after colliding with Patterson.
The second half should have brought plenty of goals from the moment Sa stopped Garner’s wobbling shot and Branthwaite headed the rebound into the goalkeeper’s grateful arms.
Due to a defeat, Everton are at the bottom of the Premier League after three defeats in a row
Abdoulaye Doucoure was one of the players brilliantly rejected by Wolves goalkeeper Jose Sa
Everton have yet to score a goal this season
Fabio Silva was marginally offside when he batted in a Hugo Bueno cross and then missed badly after a terrible confusion between Tarkowski and Pickford left him clear, with the two Evertonians both stopping in front of each other to deal with the danger.
Pickford then made an exceptional save as Branthwaite deflected a Neto free-kick towards his own goal. Not to be outdone, Sa showed great reactions as he fell over from Doucoure after his header bounced down and back up towards the roof of the net.
Everton threw £15 million to striker Youssef Chermiti before his debut to chase a winner, but it was Gary O’Neil’s substitution that had the bigger impact.
Kalajdzic, who was injured for most of last season following his move from Stuttgart, replaced Matheus Cunha and immediately found space between two Everton centre-backs to head in his first Wolves goal, much to the delight of traveling fans.