Everton remain the only team in the entire Premier League to have failed to score a single penalty that season.
However, that number is hopelessly skewed due to the fact that they have actually only received one, the smallest number alongside both Nottingham Forest and Tottenham Hotspur.
And even that was a weak effort, as Beto feathered his strike from 12 yards at a nice height for the Crystal Palace goalkeeper just last month.
In a season where nothing really seems to be going Sean Dyche’s way, he just needs a bit of luck after a while to hopefully help turn the tide.
Yesterday, such fortune was nowhere to be seen.
Everton denied another clear penalty vs Bournemouth
Although the performance hardly merited much, despite Beto’s best attempts to acquire a late point from the bench, there was a key flashpoint with the scores at 0-0 which could have tipped the match in Everton’s favour.
As Dominic Calvert-Lewin collected a loose ball inside the box, his quick feet, a mark of confidence that has otherwise been lacking in the striker’s game of late, helped him skip around Tyler Adams.
Too fast for the American, his outstretched leg quite clearly struck both shins of the Englishman.
And yet, despite hurtling to the ground and his bemused protestations, both the referee and those on VAR waved away penalty calls with minimal fuss.
This left both pundits on BBC’s Match of the Day furious last night, with Stephen Warnock first noting: ‘Absolutely, I absolutely can [understand Sean Dyche’s frustration with the referee]. The referee, Samuel Barrett, had a decision to make. He felt there wasn’t enough contact on the ball.
‘In this position, why would Calvert-Lewin go down? He’s just got beyond Tyler Adams, and Tyler Adams just clips him here. That’s enough, that the speed that they’re moving, that’s a penalty.’
Martin Keown would concur: ‘Unbelievable decision. I cannot believe it really. I mean that’s ridiculous.’
Sean Dyche is unlucky but deserved little else
Whilst Dyche has every right to feel aggrieved after such a mind-boggling decision, in which his side was denied the outright opportunity to take the lead in the first half, his side admittedly created little else.
And that was despite boasting 51% of the ball for a change.
So often this campaign the Toffees have been shown as a side devoid of creativity and ideas to break down the opposition. Yesterday, this was painfully exhibited.
Andoni Iraloa’s team were not particularly outstanding, yet they restricted the visitors to just three shots on target.
Not only that, but the only big chance the forged was hardly the most meticulous move, with Dwight McNeil merely sticking a hopeful ball in, Beto challenging, and ultimately profiting from a weak goalkeeper.
Therefore, whilst Dyche can profess his anger, it was yet another match that went by where they never really forced the issue with their opposition.
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