Everton 1-0 Ipswich: Match Report And Player Ratings

The Toffees certainly made hard work of it, but they crucially got the deserved win.

Everton started the brighter of the two teams, and they could have been in front after just five minutes. Harrison Armstrong found Brennan Johnson inside the box with a clever throughball, but after a fantastic turn, the Welsh winger failed to find the target from close range.

Everton then opened the scoring after just 11 minutes. The ball fell kindly to James Tarkowski and he opted to unleash a thunderous volley from range. His effort appeared to be going wide, but thankfully, it struck Thierno Barry and found its way into the back of the net.

After the goal, the Toffees were put under a lot of pressure by Ipswich, who grew into the game massively. Jordan Pickford made some fine stops to keep the scoreline level. 

The best chance of the first half fell to Leif Davis. The Ipswich left-back crept to the back post and was picked out. Tarkowski opted to leave the ball rather than attack it, allowing Davis to head at goal, but he somehow missed the target.

It was a flat start to the second half from Everton, with Ipswich looking more likely to score. Despite that, Everton thought they’d doubled their lead. Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall delivered a corner into the box, and Barry did superbly to leap and head into the far corner.

Unfortunately, Johnson was in an offside position, and VAR opted to cancel the goal. An incredibly harsh decision, considering the goalkeeper had no chance of saving Barry’s unstoppable header. 

Everton then gained more control. Abdul Fatawu was sent off for a second bookable offence following a terrible attempt at a dive, and Tyler Dibling was introduced in place of Johnson.

Dibling’s introduction, coupled with Ipswich’s red card, saw Everton become more threatening in the final third. The young winger tested the goalkeeper as he cut in before sending a curling effort towards the far corner, but it was punched away.

Minutes later, Dibling produced a phenomenal cross to the back post which was somehow not converted by an unmarked Dewsbury-Hall. 

Towards the end of the game, Everton had their backs against the wall with Ipswich pushing for an equaliser, but the Toffees held on for three points. 

Onto the player ratings.

Pickford made some crucial saves for Everton, helping keep a clean sheet. His stop from Fatawu’s strike was particularly impressive.

A fairly solid performance from Maitland-Niles. Seems to be a common theme. Doesn’t stand out as a man of the match contender, but puts in consistent performances.

Some sloppy moments in possession and was very disappointed with his decision not to attack the ball for Davis’ chance, but outside of that, a really strong performance. 

Two clean sheets on the bounce.

A sloppy moment in possession (common theme for many of them!) where Ipswich almost stole the ball in a dangerous position, but also made a crucial block late on. Solid performance but not his best.

Reasonably solid. Fatawu had a lot of joy throughout the game before his red card, so think it would be unjust to give Mykolenko any higher. Didn’t do an awful lot wrong, though.

Wasn’t a great performance from Garner. When you look at the Tottenham game, where he was winning everything in midfield, it’s chalk and cheese. Failed to win a single duel all game. Needed more from him. 

Absolutely everywhere, again. But think he could have offered a lot more in possession. Some poor decision-making, particularly when he should have passed to Dewsbury-Hall. 

Two really good chances to score, or at least hit the target, but he failed to do so. Offered a reasonable amount out of possession, but not a lot in it. 

Missed a huge chance and was just overall quite sloppy. Need more from him this season. Not been the same player as last season. Plenty of time, though, and at least he’s always heavily involved and doesn’t go missing.

On the eye, I didn’t think it was a great performance from Grealish, but it’s hard to argue with his numbers. Created five chances in the 79 minutes he played. Still think there’s more to come from him. 

Offers a lot of control and stability going forward, though.

Took his offside goal incredibly well. Could maybe have done better with his header in the first half, but it wasn’t an easy chance with the cross being slightly behind him.

Worked his absolute you-know-what’s off, which undoubtedly boosts his score. 

Held the ball up well, even though he was chasing and battling for lost causes most of the time. Delighted he got on the scoresheet, but deserved more.

Finally, a little shoutout to Dibling. Was excellent when he came on. A real impact sub. Unfortunate to not have an assist at least. Well done, kid.