Frustrated Everton manager Sean Dyche has told his players it is time to start taking responsibility for the chances they miss in front of goal, as several mistakes up front contributed to a 3-1 defeat at home to West Ham.
Beto headed into the lead in the 56th minute after missing the club’s first penalty of the season, but Kurt Zouma equalised six minutes in and after goalkeeper Alphonse Areola found good form, he twice let Tomas Soucek and Edson Alvarez score in injury time.
Problems up front have been a problem all season – only Burnley and Sheffield United have scored fewer goals than the Toffees (29) – but there are signs that Dyche is starting to lose patience.
“I look at the talent we have, the quality we have and how it is that we are not scoring more goals, it’s just weird,” he said after a winless 10th game.
“I can talk about xG, I can talk about quality, I can talk about everything, but I have never been naive in football and you have to go and do it.
“I just told the players that we have a collective responsibility to actively go and take the opportunities we create for ourselves, and that’s all of us.
“It’s hard to fix it when it’s right there, right in front of your eyes. What more can we do?
“But the players have a responsibility in this football club, as does the manager and the staff, and we know that it’s a shared responsibility.”
The omission of Dominic Calvert-Lewin, who has not scored in his last 21 games, was somewhat justified by only Bet’s second league goal on an afternoon of mixed feelings for the £24m summer signing from Udinese.
But Dyche was pleased with the Portuguese’s reaction, adding: “It was pleasing to see Beto get that goal.
“It’s not easy to miss a penalty, he wasted a good chance in the first half but he kept going and it’s a great headed goal.
“He got tired so we had to take him off, but it’s another good indication that he said: ‘Look, I’m ready and I want to go for it’.”
For West Ham boss David Moyes, it was two wins in six days to keep his team in seventh place and in the hunt for European qualification.
“I think the result was harsh for Everton but our goalkeeper made four or five outstanding saves,” said the Scot on his return to his former club.
“We scored three goals at Everton, they don’t score many, we scored four in a week against Brentford so we did our job.
“We went through six or seven weeks where we had very little going for us; I don’t know if that’s the right word nowadays, that we had a lot going for us, but the goalkeeper made the saves, that’s what he’s there for.
“I have to say I’m delighted with the win, a bit of a comeback, but I really enjoyed it.”
Moyes had special praise for his goalkeeper, adding, “He probably made the difference, his play was excellent.
“A lot of goalkeepers are praised for different things – using the ball – but most people from the era I come from are the ones who save it with their hands and most of the time stop the ball going in the net and I think he did that really well today.”