- Iliman Ndiaye snatched possession and slammed the ball home after 17 minutes
- Michael Keane fired past Arijanet Muric with a powerful strike from tight angle
- LISTEN NOW: It’s All Kicking Off!, available wherever you get your podcasts. New episodes every Monday and Thursday
Kieran McKenna was left infuriated by a VAR call to overturn a penalty awarded to his side – but Ipswich can have few complaints after the inexcusable mistakes they made in defeat to Everton.
This was an Everton team, after all, who hadn’t won away from home in the league since last December. A squad so depleted that Sean Dyche had to stick two goalkeepers and three right backs on the bench.
These are games, especially at Portman Road, Ipswich should be hoping to take advantage of. Instead, it was Everton who profited from their mistakes.
All Wes Burns needed to do when the ball dropped inside his own box was put his foot through it. Instead, he delayed for so long that Iliman Ndiaye snatched possession and slammed the ball past goalkeeper Arijanet Muric to open the scoring.
A route back into the game was swiftly taken away from Ipswich when VAR overturned Michael Oliver’s decision to award them a penalty. And shortly after, the hosts shot themselves in the foot again.
Everton extended their unbeaten run to four matches after beating Ipswich at Portman Road
The Tractor Boys’ wait for a first Premier League win of the season continues after another loss
Iliman Ndiaye snatched possession and slammed the ball home after 17 minutes for Everton
Everton all but put the game out of sight before half-time when Dwight McNeil ghosted his way past four blue shirts before threading the ball through defender Michael Keane.
It was a tight angle. Not one you’d back a defender from. But Keane produced a finish Erling Haaland would be proud of, firing the ball past Muric at his near post and into the roof of the net.
‘Keano (Keane) has had a lot of questions marks over him – haven’t we all,’ said Everton boss Sean Dyche. ‘But Keano, to be fair to him, he’s out there training every day. It was an excellent goal and he’s a very good finisher.’
How different the afternoon could have been, though, had Jack Clarke seized his opportunity soon moments after the action finally commenced following a 15-minute delay due to IT issues at the turnstiles.
Burns picked out Clarke in the box but the ball clipped his standing leg, fatally knocking his radar out of kilter. Clarke’s effort ultimately sailed high and wide over Jordan Pickford’s goal.
Soon after Ndiaye put the visitors ahead it looked as though Clarke’s dancing feet had made amends for his miss after he won his side a penalty.
A lengthy VAR check, however, deemed Clarke had kicked McNeil and so referee Michael Oliver reversed his decision, much to McKenna’s dismay.
‘I find it inexplicable how it can be overruled,’ said McKenna. ‘Jack is about to shoot, there’s every chance it’s a goal and Dwight McNeil lunges across the line of the ball when he’s on his backswing.
An opportunity to get back into the game was then snatched away when VAR overturned Michael Oliver’s decision to award Ipswich a penalty
Michael Keane fired past Arijanet Muric with a powerful strike from tight angle
Ipswich will be giving themselves a mountain to climb if they continue to make mistakes
‘He hasn’t touched the ball, he hasn’t even made an attempt to play the ball. I think it was a really poor decision for that to be identified as a clear and obvious error.’
McNeil went on to setup Keane for his goal and Calvert-Lewin almost added a third late on. By then, though, Ipswich had already paid a very heavy price.
