My late dad taught me many life lessons; one of which was to never, in any circumstances, read too much into either the performance or result of a pre-season friendly.
So, against that caveat…
Nobody’s drawing too many conclusions from Dens Park, but the 4-0 win over Dundee did give Moyes a couple of things worth thinking about before the real work starts.
Beto opened the scoring before the break, but it was the pass to him that stood out as much as the finish. Tyler Dibling played him in — a player who managed just 14 league appearances last season and barely got a look-in under Moyes. He was quiet for the first twenty minutes, then started running at defenders. That was encouraging.
Thierno Barry’s goal after the break was a scrappy one — closing down keeper Harrison Sharp, forcing a block, and the ball spun in off him. Eight goals in 36 league games last season wasn’t good enough, and there was frustration with him off the pitch too. Maybe that fluke will kickstart something better.
Harvey Foster made it three, rolling in from close range after more poor goalkeeping from Dundee’s back-up. He’s 19 and has just broken into the Premier League 2 side. Dwight McNeil, on with Jake O’Brien at half-time, added the fourth late on.
O’Brien’s 45 minutes don’t prove much in isolation — Dundee were down to their fourth-choice keeper and missing several regulars — but every minute matters before August.
Branthwaite’s back in training and progressing from his hamstring injury, though there’s no rush. Hackney’s still being brought in gradually. Garner and Mykolenko were rested. That’s a sizeable chunk of the first-choice XI missing.
Dundee gave Everton very little to work through. Three of the four goals came straight from defensive errors rather than anything Everton had to break down — as Everton’s own matchday report noted. So nothing to get too giddy about but a useful exercise in getting minutes in the legs.
Moyes came away with everyone fit and two players — Dibling and Barry — showing him a little something. Bolton next Saturday will tell us more.
