Everton: Smith blown away by ‘brilliant’ Pickford despite Wolves defeat’Brilliant’ – Sky Sports pundit stunned by Everton star live on air despite Wolves defeat
Sue Smith blown away by ‘brilliant’ Jordan Pickford for Everton despite defeat to Wolves
Sue Smith has been left stunned by a “brilliant” save from Everton goalkeeper Jordan Pickford, despite the Toffees’ heavy defeat to Wolves.
Sean Dyche’s side extended their winless run in the Premier League to three matches with a 3-0 defeat on Saturday 30 December as goals from Max Kilman, Matheus Cunha and Craig Dawson ensured the Toffees left Molineux empty-handed.
Everton’s defence was easily picked apart by Gary O’Neil’s side as the Toffees were miles off of the pace, but Sky Sports pundit Smith was impressed by Pickford’s performance, in particular his excellent save to deny Hwang Hee-Chan.
Speaking on Sky Sports Soccer Saturday (30 December, 16:31) she said: “They’ve [Wolves] just had another opportunity, it’s Hwang. It’s a brilliant save from Jordan Pickford but Everton are committing players forward to try and get a goal back.
“Cunha picks the ball up on the left-hand side, plays the ball to Hwang and it’s a brilliant effort, looking for the far post. Good save by Jordan Pickford.”
Need consistency
The defensive performance from Everton on Saturday was nothing short of abysmal as Wolves managed to pick apart the Toffees with complete ease almost every time they ventured forward with the ball.
Such fragility at the back is incredibly out of character for the Toffees who under Dyche’s management have been very hard to break down, particularly with the partnership of Jarrad Branthwaite and James Tarkowski at the back.
Pickford headed into Saturday’s clash on the back of a disappointing performance against Manchester City and while no keeper will be happy to concede three, the England number one pulled off a number of excellent saves to stop the scoreline becoming even more embarrassing.
As Everton look to once again pull away from the relegation zone, they’re going to need the 29-year-old to get back to his best and continue to make these sorts of big saves, otherwise, it could be a long and nerve-racking second half of the campaign at Goodison Park.
