Seeing Red

Richarlison has shown off his best traits in his first two matches with Everton, but against AFC Bournemouth he also showed off his worst. Following a largely pedestrian 40 minutes, Richarlison got face-to-face with Cherries fullback Adam Smith and allowed himself to be goaded into a headbutt. While the act appeared to be minimal at first glance, it was nonetheless a bone-headed move that could have easily been avoided.

Down to 10 men for the second time in three matches Everton looked cooked going into the half. Surprisingly Everton were able to go up a goal early in second half. Shortly after, Adam Smith found out that karma is indeed real as he was sent off for dragging down Theo Walcott. Referee Lee Probert’s inconsistent disciplinary decisions certainly added a new layer to a match was looking dreadful for Everton in the early stages.

Everton: A tragedy in three acts

It must be said that in the first half of this match it seemed that we were in for a very long afternoon. Bournemouth were very good in the first half, looking organized defensively and dangerous on the counter attack. Fortunately for Everton, Bournemouth were unable to capitalize on some very good scoring chances.

Things started to turn around for Everton when Theo Walcott put the team up one followed by the aforementioned Adam Smith red card. With each side even at 10 men Everton put their foot on the gas looking to secure all three points. A 66th minute header from Michael Keane saw Everton go up two and it seemed as though Everton would escape the consequences of Richarlison’s sending off.

With the match seemingly locked up, Everton did what they have so often done in the past and let Bournemouth back in the match. A questionable penalty call on Leighton Baines saw Joshua King pull the Cherries within one. Less than five minutes later Nathan Ake tied the match thanks to some sub-par set piece defense. Disaster, triumph and back to disaster again.

Keane goes down in scary incident

Our thoughts are with Michael Keane following an absolutely terrifying injury in the closing moments of the match. After knocking heads with Idrissa Gueye on a clearance the defender crumpled to the ground and had to be stretchered off the pitch.

His injury made the rest of the match seem somewhat pointless. Even as Everton made their last few attempts to win the match it seemed uninteresting as my thoughts and those of many were with Keane. Here’s hoping for a good prognosis and kudos to the Bournemouth fans for showing real class in the aftermath of the injury.