Micky sums up the team’s disappointment after late leveller against Everton
Micky van de Ven echoed Ange Postecoglou’s view that we needed to kill the game off against Everton at Goodison Park on Saturday.
Leading 2-1 at half-time thanks to a couple of superb finishes from in-form Richarlison – nine goals in his last eight now in the Premier League – we had chances to make it 3-1 in the second half only for Jordan Pickford to deny James Maddison, Pedro Porro and Richarlison again.
As we’ve seen before, Everton kept going, upped the pressure in the final part of the game and then, in the fifth minute of added time, Jarrod Branthwaite headed home the equaliser from a free-kick – that’s the third time in our last six visits to Goodison that Everton have found a 90-minute-plus equaliser.
Speaking on our Review Show from Goodison, Micky, outstanding on the day, told us: “It’s really disappointing. I think we played quite well in the second half. First half, we were struggling a little, but in the second half we have to kill the game, and then we conceded a goal in minute 97, I think (94). It’s a killer.
“Everyone is disappointed (in the dressing room) because we know we have to kill the game at the end, just play in their half. We let them attack in the last few minutes, they win free-kicks, set pieces, that’s where they were strong in this game.
“We spoke about it at half-time and in the second half, we dealt with it really well. Of course, we don’t need to give free-kicks away at the end, they are strong with that, but we have to kill the game and don’t give them the opportunity to win those free kicks and kill the game in their half.”
As for Richy’s form, Micky added: “Richarlison did really well, scored important goals for us and it’s unlucky for him that he doesn’t come away from here with three points.”