adminMike Dean Delivers Verdict on Everton’s Penalty Appeal Against Bournemouth
Former Premier League referee Mike Dean has given his verdict on Everton’s penalty appeal during their 1-1 draw against Bournemouth on Saturday.
The Toffees were forced to settle for a point at the Vitality Stadium after Alex Scott put Bournemouth ahead four minutes before half-time.
Everton showed plenty of character to remain in the contest and eventually rescued a point through James Tarkowski’s late equaliser.
The result means David Moyes’ side have now followed up their impressive 2-0 victory over Crystal Palace on the opening weekend with another positive result.
However, Moyes will still feel frustrated by one major decision that went against his team before Tarkowski found the net.
What happened with Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall?
Everton had several promising moments throughout the match, with Thierno Barry also missing a huge opportunity that could have changed the outcome.
One of the most talked-about incidents came around 10 minutes into the second half when Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall went down inside the Bournemouth penalty area.
Bournemouth defender James Hill appeared to lose track of Dewsbury-Hall before stepping across the Everton midfielder inside the box.
The Toffees immediately appealed for a penalty, but referee Chris Kavanagh was unmoved and allowed play to continue.
VAR subsequently reviewed the incident but decided there was not enough evidence to recommend that Kavanagh visit the pitch-side monitor.
Sky Sports pundit Tim Sherwood initially believed Everton had been denied a clear penalty.
“It’s a liberty. It has to be a pen,” Sherwood said. “It’s a diabolical liberty from the referee. It’s impossible not to get overturned.”
However, after watching another replay, Sherwood changed his assessment and admitted: “Maybe not.”
Dean, who has extensive experience as a Premier League referee, also concluded that Everton should not have been awarded a spot-kick.
“What’s happened is Hill has turned. As he’s turned, he’s run into [Dewsbury-Hall],” Dean explained.
“It’s not a penalty. It was never going to be a penalty.”
Dean’s assessment broadly matched the eventual consensus surrounding the incident, despite Everton continuing to believe they had a case for a spot-kick.
Everton’s statistics against Bournemouth
The match statistics suggest Bournemouth had the greater share of the overall play, enjoying 58.5 per cent possession compared with Everton’s 41.5 per cent.
However, Everton actually registered more shots on target, managing seven compared with Bournemouth’s five.
The Cherries also finished with the higher expected goals figure, recording an xG of 2.14 compared with Everton’s 1.72.
That indicates Bournemouth arguably created the better opportunities overall, although Everton showed tremendous resilience to stay in the game.
Moyes’ team had already wasted three big chances before Tarkowski eventually came to their rescue with a late equaliser.
Bournemouth will undoubtedly be disappointed after holding the lead for such a long period but failing to secure all three points.
Everton can also thank goalkeeper Jordan Pickford for several important saves that kept them within touching distance.
Tarkowski’s late intervention ultimately ensured the Toffees left the Vitality Stadium with a point and extended their unbeaten start to the campaign to three matches in all competitions.
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