Everton find goalscoring touch to beat struggling Bournemouth
Abdoulaye Doucoure scored Everton’s third (Nigel French/PA)
Everton scored more than once at home for the first time in almost a year as Goodison Park finally celebrated a victory after a 3-0 win over a woeful Bournemouth.
October 22, 2022 was the last time Goodison witnessed a game with multiple goals for the hosts when Crystal Palace were dispatched by the same scoreline.
On-loan Leeds winger Jack Harrison, who departed to a standing ovation late on, marked his full home debut with a brilliant lob over goalkeeper Neto to double the advantage given to them by James Garner’s early strike.
Abdoulaye Doucoure, whose goal against the Cherries in May secured the club’s top-flight survival here on the final day of the season, made the game safe on the hour with an altogether more simple close-range finish.
After four successive home defeats, Everton avoided a record worst start to a season at Goodison but were fortunate to come up against Bournemouth.
The visitors extended their own club-record winless run to 12 matches (nine defeats and three draws) and have now equalled their worst start to a season since 1994 in the third tier. The reasons for that were apparent.
Everton have hosted – and lost to – some poor sides in Wolves, Fulham and Luton already this season but none were as accommodating as the Cherries, who aside from an energetic spell 10 minutes after going behind appeared to still be trying to work out what new coach Andoni Iraola wants them to do.
Sean Dyche’s side did not even have to play that well to establish a two-goal cushion but once they did the confidence started to gradually flow back, encouraged by the lack of threat their opponents posed.
Dyche had dropped midfielder Amadou Onana to move Garner inside
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