Sean Dyche has criticised Everton’s ‘leaky’ defence following a second defeat after going two-nil up in back-to-back games.
Everton lost 3-2 to Aston Villa after leading by two goals after 30 minutes, having also lost 3-2 to Bournemouth after leading by the same advantage prior to the international break.
In doing so, Dyche’s side became only the second side in Premier League history to lose back-to-back games after leading by two or more goals in both.
Following Saturday’s defeat to Villa, Dyche feels his side are lacking the cutting edge at vital moments.
“Today, we make a mistake and they capitalise on it. I said to the players, the killer instinct in both boxes is what’s vital. The key moment was to go 3-1 up. We didn’t and we made a mistake, and they capitalised on it. We have to keep going,” he told Sky Sports.
“We’re making high-quality chances. At the minute, we’ve got to score as many as it takes to win a game. That’s been a challenge since I’ve been at the club. We can’t keep leaking goals like that.
“We’re having to manipulate the team. We have to keep believing in each other. You’ve got a responsibility to deal with it – and that’s what we have to do, including me.
“[The players] are an honest group. They’ve worked very hard and been through a lot. We are where we are, so they’re very disappointed. We have to respond. Before you know it, Tuesday will be upon us.”
Everton have struggled with injury so far this season and find themselves increasingly short at the back.
Vitaliy Mykolenko had to be substituted after 26 minutes against Villa due to injury and was replaced by James Garner, traditionally a midfielder.
“We’re certainly taking some knocks at the minute. Every mistake seems to be a goal, and every chance we don’t quite capitalise on,” reflected Dyche.
“Unfortunately we were on the wrong side of the margins again today. It’s a tough one to take, for different reasons than the last game. We’re down to a low squad anyway, so it’s been a challenge without a shadow of a doubt.”
Van de Ven out with hamstring injury until after international break, says Postecoglou
Micky van de Ven suffered a hamstring injury and will be out of action for Tottenham until after the international break, head coach Ange Postecoglou has revealed.
Van de Ven left the pitch in tears while clutching the back of his right leg 14 minutes into Tottenham’s EFL Cup victory over Manchester City on Wednesday.
While Postecoglou confirmed the fears of Spurs fans, he was optimistic about the prognosis with the defender not expected to be out for a long stretch.
"Micky has strained a hamstring. It's not too serious, but it will probably be after the international break for him [to return]," the Spurs boss told reporters ahead of his side's clash with Aston Villa on Sunday.
"He was disappointed. Obviously, he was really looking forward to the game, so he was a bit emotional, but it is definitely not a bad one like last time that kept him out for quite a while.
"He will work hard, and the good thing is we've got the international break, which is an extra two weeks. Hopefully, it means he won't miss too much football."
Van de Ven has featured in eight of Tottenham's nine Premier League games this season and has been a reassuring presence in defence.
Indeed, he has made the second most clearances (23) and blocks (four) in the squad, only second to Cristian Romero and Pedro Porro respectively.
There was, however, positive news about skipper Heung-min Son, who was absent during Spurs' defeat at Crystal Palace last weekend.
"Sonny trained [on Friday], so if he gets through training [on Saturday], he should be OK," Postecoglou added.
Campion College, Hydel book quarterfinal berths as former champions STGC, Wolmer's Boys, STATHS miss out
Campion College and Hydel High booked their spots in the Inter-secondary Schools Sports Association (ISSA)/Digicel Manning Cup quarterfinal round after both registered 1-0 wins over St Jago and Wolmer’s Boys in their respective second round group encounters on Friday.
The win for Campion College saw them finish second in Group One on six points, behind reigning champions Mona High, who blanked many times champion St George’s College 3-0 to finish on maximum nine points.
St George’s placed third on three points and missed out on the quarterfinal along with St Jago, who ended without point. However, both will have a shot at the Walker Cup knockout title.
The same is true for perennial semi-finalist St Andrew Technical High School (STATHS) and 10-time winners Wolmer's Boys, who were both eliminated from the Manning Cup.
Wolmer’s Boys’ loss to Hydel saw them finish at the foot of Group Three with a point, while STATHS’ 1-0 win over group winners Kingston College was not enough to see them through. They finished third on four points, as Kingston College and Hydel took the top two spots with six points each.
Kingston College, Campion College, Mona High and Hydel are joined by Group Four leaders St Catherine (six points) and Group Two leaders Excelsior (six points) in the quarterfinal, with Jamaica College, Tivoli Gardens and Eltham on the hunt for the other two spots.
Friday’s results
Campion College 1, St Jago 0
Mona High 3, St George’s College 0
Hydel High 1, Wolmer’s Boys 0
STATHS 1, Kingston College 0
Saturday’s fixtures
St Catherine vs Jamaica College
Calabar vs Charlie Smith
Excelsior vs Jonathan Grant
Tivoli Gardens vs Eltham
*All games are scheduled for 3:00pm
Sounders in control of their playoff destiny but must find ruthless edge, says Schmetzer
Brian Schmetzer believes the Seattle Sounders are in control of their playoff destiny after edging out the Houston Dynamo in Game 1 of their best-of-three series.
After a goalless encounter, the Sounders held their nerve in the shootout, scoring all five spot-kicks before Erik Sviatchenko's miss proved costly.
They also stopped their opponents from registering a single shot on target, marking the fourth time the Sounders have achieved that milestone in a playoff match, and will be looking to do the same in their second encounter.
"Right now it doesn't matter how we played, really. We're in control and we won,” Schmetzer said. "This was going to be a tight series because the two teams are very good defensively.
"We've had our challenges this year sometimes scoring goals. Did we create enough? Those are all valid questions. Again, I would just repeat that those guys put the effort in. We were close on a couple of occasions."
Seattle goalkeeper Stefan Frei is also on the verge of history, with his shutout in the first game his 14th playoff clean sheet, needing one more to go level with LA Galaxy’s Kevin Hartman for the MLS record.
"Stef has an opportunity in Houston to tie for number one [all-time]," Schmetzer pointed out.
"So that's a goal that he can reach, he can attain, and let's see if he can do that. Because that would give us the best chance of ending the series in Houston."
For Houston, meanwhile, their cruel defeat in Game 1 was partly down to their own doing, so says head coach Ben Olsen.
The Dynamo boss acknowledged his side did not do enough in the final third, not helped by Adalberto Carrasquilla’s red card, which will see him miss the upcoming encounter.
Though the performance did not come as a surprise to Olsen, given the two sides’ defensive record in the regular season, he wants to see improvements at the Shell Energy Stadium this time around.
“It was hardly surprising. They are the best defensive team in the league. We are also one of the better defensive teams in the league, but then you add the playoffs to it,” Olsen said.
“It’s a heightened game of being alert defensively. You have these kind of games in the playoffs. We didn’t do enough to create better opportunities for ourselves to win that game.
“Some of that is our doing, some of it is that we’re playing a good defensive team. I said this leading up to the game, we are not going to get a lot of chances.
“We may get a few big ones and you have to finish them. It will be a similar situation at home, they are not going to turn into a bad defensive team overnight.”
PLAYERS TO WATCH
Houston Dynamo – Amine Bassi
In a team that is not filled with goals, Bassi has impressed for Houston, with his 10 goal involvements (three goals, six assists) in the regular season, a total only bettered by Ibrahim Aliyu (10) for the Dynamo.
The Moroccan also created more chances (79) than any of his team-mates, and his creative flair will be needed to unlock the Sounders’ defence.
Seattle Sounders – Albert Rusnak
Rusnak has played a starring role for Seattle this term, with only Jordan Morris (17) scoring more goals in the regular season for the Sounders than the Slovakian.
Despite not hitting the back of the net in Game 1, Rusnak notched four goal involvements (two goals, two assists) in three games heading into the postseason.
MATCH PREDICTION: HOUSTON DYNAMO WIN
The Dynamo have lost only two of their 18 all-time home playoff matches (W12 D4), though one of those defeats was against Seattle in the 2017 Conference Finals. Houston won nine of their first 10 home playoff matches but have won just three of eight since (D4 L1).
Seattle, however, have won six of their last seven away matches, including the last three in a row, all with clean sheets. This is the second time they have kept three straight away clean sheets in all competitions since joining MLS in 2009, also doing so between June and July 2011.
They have also lost only two of their last 23 matches against the Dynamo in all competitions, including securing a shootout win after a scoreless draw at home in Game 1. Houston have also failed to score in 12 of their last 18 meetings with the Sounders.
OPTA WIN PROBABILITY
Houston Dynamo – 42.1%
Draw – 26.7%
Seattle Sounders – 31.2%
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