David Moyes’ return to Everton was ruined by Ollie Watkins’ second-half winning goal for Aston Villa in the Premier League.
Manager Moyes was taking charge of the Toffees after replacing Sean Dyche, who was sacked last week, but there was little joy for the Scot almost 12 years after leaving the club for Manchester United.
Everton were architects of their own downfall as Morgan Rogers picked off Jarrad Branthwaite’s loose pass on 51 minutes before feeding Watkins and the Villa striker slid home a clinical finish past England team-mate Jordan Pickford.
Earlier, Watkins had fluffed a golden opportunity when he latched on to Ashley Young’s blind backpass to run through, but he got his finish horribly wrong and sent his effort wide.
The out-of-form Dominic Calvert-Lewin could have ended his barren spell in front of goal after his run was picked out by Vitalii Mykolenko, but the Toffees number nine could not find the target with his low drive, while another poke at goal was cleared off the line by Boubacar Kamara.
Jacob Ramsey should have converted at the end of the first half when a loose ball dropped to him 10 yards out, but the Villa midfielder somehow screwed his shot wide.
Calvert-Lewin appeared to be bundled over in the box by Youri Tielemans but no penalty was awarded and the Blues were unable find an equaliser, with Moyes’ side teetering one point and two places above the relegation zone.
Some 4,266 days since last taking charge of an Everton home match – a 2-0 victory over a side he would later go on to manage in West Ham – Moyes was back in the dugout at Goodison Park and witnessed the monumental job he has walked in to.
Moyes, 61, is the oldest manager currently in the top flight and he will need to use all those years of experience as he attempts to keep the Blues afloat come May.
Dyche managed to salvage survival on two occasions, but having won only three times this season Moyes faces a colossal task to ensure the club maintains its proud record of being ever-present in the Premier League.
Goals win games, and Everton have not claimed enough victories because of their struggles in putting the ball in the back of the net – they have scored just 15 times in 20 games this term, with only bottom side Southampton faring worse with 12.
Moyes said on Monday that Calvert-Lewin needs to get his scoring boots back on, but the striker has now gone 16 games without a goal, a run stretching back to September, and had plenty of chances to give his boss a winning return.
The first was flashed wide after he made a good run, but he showed signs of a player bereft of confidence when another opportunity fell to him inside the box, unable to sort his feet out quickly enough before stabbing a meek effort at goal.
His best opportunity came deep in added time when Jesper Lindstrom fed a pass to Calvert-Lewin in front of goal, but the forward scooped a first-time shot over the crossbar from eight yards out, much to Moyes’ and the crowd’s dismay.
Villa kept Everton largely at arm’s length after scoring, leaving the hosts with one win in their past 11 games and failing to score in nine of those.
Everton v Aston Villa is the most frequently played fixture in English top-flight history and Unai Emery’s side maintained their recent hold over their opponents, stretching their unbeaten run against their hosts to 12 games.
Their form away from Villa Park has been wretched this season, but they were given a helping hand to end a sequence of five consecutive league defeats on their travels.
A welcome clean sheet was also their first shutout away from home this season, and needed a flying save from Emiliano Martinez to preserve it, thwarting Orel Mangala’s rising strike in stoppage time.
Rogers’ curling effort in the fifth minute was tipped round the post by Pickford, and when Kamara’s stinging strike was also pushed away Villa may have thought they would be leaving Merseyside frustrated.
But Watkins accepted a gift at the second time of asking, slotting in his ninth goal of the season to move Villa up to seventh in the table, three points adrift of Newcastle in fourth place.
Chelsea and champions Manchester City are sandwiched between, as the race to qualify for the Champions League hots up.
(BBC)
