Everton v Reading at Goodison Park. Kevin Mirallas celebrates after scoring Everton’s third goal.
LET’S face it – we all know what to expect by now when we play Stoke. It’s not going to be pretty, it’s not going to be free-flowing football, and it’s not going to have many goals to brighten a cold afternoon.
And that’s exactly what it was like when the Potters came to Goodison on Saturday, when the only thing really worth shouting about in the end was a satisfactory result.
I said beforehand when I was doing my radio show that I’d be happy with a scrappy 1-0 win, and I doubt whether many Evertonians would have disagreed.
We knew what was required, with Arsenal and Spurs both winning before we kicked off, so it was all about grinding out the three points to keep in touch.
The talk is still about the top four and a crack at the Champions League, and while Everton keep winning it can stay on the agenda even if it is a bit unrealistic. David Moyes is being very positive and saying it’s in his sights and that’s exactly what the fans, and his players, want to hear.
We’ve got some very difficult fixtures on the horizon, including two trips to North London to face two of our competitors for the top four, so we’re going to need every bit of luck that comes our way.
To that end I think we did get the rub of the green when the referee Mike Jones gave Ryan Shawcross’s second-half goal as offside, because for me it was borderline.
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