Moyes praise for Jake O'Brien after big Everton goal against West Ham
Everton's Irish defender Jake O'Brien scores their equaliser. Pic: DARREN STAPLES/AFP via Getty Images
DAVID Moyes has walked delicately in discussing his friend and predecessor Sean Dyche and the work he did at Everton but, with every passing week, Ireland defender Jake O’Brien is making his former manager look foolish.
O’Brien was a Goodison afterthought under Dyche, despite Everton’s dreadful start to the campaign, starting just three games, all in cup competitions.
The £16 million-plus fee Everton paid Lyon to bring him to English football looked destined to be added to the long list of transfer disasters conducted by the struggling Merseysiders who, once again, looked likely to be embroiled in a relegation fight.
Moyes had other ideas. After missing the Moyes-iah’s return game, a home defeat to Aston Villa at the start of January, O’Brien has started every match since for the new manager, a total of 10 straight starts with the only defeat in that span coming in the FA Cup against Bournemouth.
To make his comeback all the more impressive, the former Cork City defender has seen almost all of that duty at right-back, rather than his preferred central defence; the result of injuries to Seamus Coleman and Nathan Patterson.
And, just to add to O’Brien’s growing reputation in the eyes of Everton supporters, his 91st-minute goal earned them the point against West Ham on Saturday, just as his second-half equaliser had done in a draw at Brentford at the end of last month.
“He’s starting to get a couple of goals, and I’m moaning at Tarky (James Tarkowski) and Jarrad (Branthwaite) to get more goals, being centre-halves,” said Moyes.
“But I have to say that I'm pleased for big Jake. He's coming on, improving. He's a sort of young centre-back making his way a little bit as a false right back in some ways, but he's doing a good job and I'm pleased he got the goal. He's capable of it and it was an important goal for us.
“The way we play them, we try to play him a little bit of a ‘hybrid.’ I thought the way West Ham played meant that he had to go and join in and actually play much higher up the pitch and nearly be like an attacking full-back today. And we're talking about a young centre-back being asked to do that.”
Television pundit Danny Murphy also picked out O’Brien for particular praise in his post-match analysis, all a far cry from the 34 minutes of Premier League football he was allowed by Dyche.
And longer-term, with Tarkowski the wrong side of 32, it is not hard to envisage Everton’s plan is to partner O’Brien alongside Branthwaite, a surprising omission from Thomas Tuchel’s first England squad last week, at the heart of their defence.
For the remainder of this season, however, it looks like he will be filling in at that full-back position with Patterson and Coleman both a way from returning to Moyes’s squad.
And, despite their position, Everton have plenty left to play for, as they find themselves in a four-team “mini-league” above the relegation places.
Both Everton and Moyes’s former club West Ham ended the day in a four-way tie, covering 13th to 16th, with Tottenham Hotspur and Manchester United - before their respective Sunday games - on 34 points. With prize money of around £3.1 million per position and profit and sustainability rules still an issue for the Toffees, a couple of league placings could be significant for them.
And with only four games remaining at Goodison now - Arsenal, Manchester City, plus relegation-bound Ipswich and Southampton - Hammers manager Graham Potter is all too aware that the famous old stadium could be a big advantage over the closing stages of its last ever campaign.
“I’ve always had huge respect for the support they get here, as an away ground it’s as tough as it gets when the crowd is up and at you," said Potter.
"These are emotional games, because there aren’t many left here, so, for us, it’s a privilege to be here and experience it.”
Pickford 7; O’Brien 78, Tarkowski 6, Brtanthwaite 7, Mykolenko 6; Gueye 6, Garner 6 (Iroegbunam 79, 5); Harrison 6 (Chermiti 79, 5), Doucoure 5 (Lindstrom 68, 5), Alcaraz 5; Beto 7 (Broja 79, 5). Substitutes (not used) Coleman, Keane, Virginia, Patterson, Young.
Areola 6; Todibo 7 (Rodriguez 90), Mavropanos 7, Kilman 7; Wan-Bissaka 6, Ward-Prowse 6, Soucek 7, Emerson 6; Paqueta 5 (Soler 83), Bowen 8, Kudus 5 (Ferguson 90). Substitutes (not used) Cresswell, Fabianksi, Ings, Guilherme, Scarles, Soler, Alvarez.
: D Bond 6
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