The second coming of David Moyes failed to inspire Everton on Wednesday as they lost 1-0 at home to Aston Villa and, though they might not need a miracle to avoid Premier League relegation, the returning manager will at least have to find a way for them to score.
Villa had lost their last five away games in the league but were by far the better team at Goodison Park and took the points via Ollie Watkins’ 51st-minute goal.
Moyes, back at the club he left in 2013 after the sacking of Sean Dyche last week, got a close-up view of the massive challenge he faces as Everton struggled for accuracy and ideas all night to make it one win in 12 league games, during which time they have failed to score in nine of them.
That drought never looked like lifting on Wednesday and they remain two places and one point above the relegation zone, while Villa move up to seventh, level on points with Manchester City.
Moyes is Everton’s ninth permanent manager since he left the club after 11 relatively successful years to join Manchester United but, if anyone was expecting an immediate transformation in approach after the dour fare served up under Dyche, they were soon disappointed.
It was a curiously subdued atmosphere at the ground and Everton quickly slipped into their default mode this season – cautious, careful and lacking any notable attacking intent.
It was Villa who took the initiative as Jordan Pickford saved well from Morgan Rogers, James Tarkowski made a desperate block to deny Youri Tielemans and Watkins shot wide after seizing on a poor Ashley Young backpass.
Everton managed their first attempt on goal after half an hour when Dominic Calvert-Lewin shot wide and he then had an off-balance effort cleared off the line by Boubacar Kamara.
Watkins put Villa ahead six minutes after the restart when he was left in too much space to run on to a Rogers through ball and slot low past Pickford.
The goal shook the home fans into life but Everton’s players remained disjointed and inaccurate and their night was summed up in stoppage time when Calvert-Lewin, desperately short of confidence after scoring two goals all season, side-footed a bobbling ball over the bar.
“I’m under no illusions about the job I’ve got to do – we couldn’t score a goal tonight,” Moyes said.
“We tried hard but a little bit of a mistake, a bit out of position, has cost us the game really.”
The only solace Moyes could take from the night was defeats for relegation rivals Leicester City and Wolverhampton Wanderers, but he knows he will not be able to rely on that for the rest of the season if Everton are to avoid relegation for the first time in 71 years.
“The position we are in isn’t as good as we’d like it. We had some really good results and good draws and were hard to play against under Sean, but we have to show more quality on the ball,” he said. “That’s the part I was disappointed with tonight.”
It was a different mood of course in the Villa camp.
“It was a tricky match, they made it difficult and the atmosphere was top but we ground it out,” Watkins said.
“We could have been a bit more clinical in the first half and it’s a deserved three points. I had a chance in the first half but you have to keep going. You have to keep your mind in the game.”
Villa boss Unai Emery was also a happy man. “We competed very well, we had some clear chances and conceded only one really,” he said.
“We didn’t have quite the same control in the second half but the clean sheet was important and it was important we ended this run (of away defeats).”
