Frank Lampard says: “The spirit of the team is good and there are positives for us to build on.”
Frank Lampard says Everton have “work to do” to become more clinical in the final third after a mixed bag of performances failed to avoid a 1-0 loss at Newcastle United.
Miguel Almiron’s 31st-minute winner separated two teams that Lampard described as “closely matched” throughout the game at St James’ Park.
Everton dominated for much of the second half, putting together strong phases of play without testing Newcastle goalkeeper Nick Pope.
FT. pic.twitter.com/fRs450dZgM
— Everton (@Everton) October 19, 2022
The Blues manager also believed his team should have been awarded a penalty immediately after Newcastle’s goal, when Anthony Gordon went down in the box following a challenge by defender Dan Burn.
With Everton also losing to Manchester United and Tottenham Hotspur in recent weeks, Lampard said it was a difficult night but believed there were positives to take back to Merseyside.
“It was frustrating since we lost the game,” he stated afterwards. “In football terms, I thought the performance was fairly decent. We more than held our own, especially at the start of the game when we needed to quiet the crowd before they scored.
10' A lively opening at St. James' with both sides looking to attack. DCL heavily involved in our build-up play so far.
⚫️ 0-0 🔵 #NEWEVE pic.twitter.com/jepKGJXmHG
— Everton (@Everton) October 19, 2022
“We opened them up a lot in the second half, but we just didn’t have that bit in the final third. The contest showcased two evenly matched teams, however we fell short in both boxes tonight.
“It’s not always easy in a game like this, but we can be lot more clinical. The number of times we played brilliantly, went through their midfield line, but got the last pass or the pass before that wrong. If you do that, it’s difficult to obtain clear-cut opportunities, so there’s definitely work to be done on that level.”
"We didn't do enough to create more with the opportunities we had when we played through their midfield lines. That's the frustration of the game."
Frank's #NEWEVE verdict: pic.twitter.com/Dgpbx92UP9
— Everton (@Everton) October 19, 2022
Dominic Calvert Lewin’s first start of the season gave Lampard hope.
Following his comeback from a knee injury incurred on the eve of the season, the England international was given a starting berth in the Blues’ past two matches.
Calvert-Lewin played 72 minutes before being substituted by Neal Maupay, and Lampard was happy with the effect of the striker.
“I felt he looked alright,” the manager continued. “We had to pull him off after 70 minutes because we had a game on Saturday, and we had to consider that for a lot of our players who had played a lot of minutes.”
“Dominic is playing in his first game in a long time, and I felt he was a handful, but we’ll have to offer him more service in and around the box.”
🗨️ | "We needed to push as a team – all of us. We need to be ruthless, we need to be relentless with it."
Conor Coady on the improvements that must be made ⤵️
— Everton (@Everton) October 20, 2022
“I think we could have pushed a little more at the finish as well.” It’s disheartening since I thought the performance had a lot of wonderful features but not enough cutting edge.
“We’ve just come off a run of away games against Manchester United, Tottenham Hotspur, and Newcastle, all of which were really difficult and close games. When you consider the possibilities, I believe we might have had a penalty tonight. However, the team’s passion is high, and some of the play was excellent. There are certain things we can build on.”
