This victory was far more difficult than the 5-2 in 2020 when Carlo Ancelotti was in charge as the 14th-placed League One side came close to proving their banana skin in waiting. But Everton’s class, as they should, prevailed and Frank Lampard can be grateful for a first win of the season after a lackluster start to the Premier League that yielded a single point from nine available. “They made it difficult for us,” the manager said. “I was happy with the attitude – although we could have been sharper at times.” After a burst from Phil Oakey and Giorgio Moroder’s Together in Electric Dreams from the PA, the first half began with Jakub Stolarczyk getting a scare when Salomón Rondón came close to reducing the No 1’s lead. Scott Brown, once of Celtic and Scotland, has taken just a seventh game in charge, his record at Town in the opening phase standing at two wins, three draws and one defeat. He saw his men, in a 4-2-3-1 formation, threaten when Liverpool’s Ged Garner’s shot at goal by Asmir Begovic was blocked before Carl Johnston got off and the Carafe keeper saved. Lampard’s line-up was strong as it included Nathan Patterson, Alex Iwobi, Michael Keane and Seamus Coleman with Chelsea’s £60m target Anthony Gordon a replacement. He denied the latest decision was to protect the club’s assets. “No, he had a little heel injury and didn’t train yesterday, but he was fit to play if needed. The situation has not changed. We are aware of Chelsea’s interest, but Anthony is an Everton player,” the manager said. Lampard was asked about a report claiming the striker has told the club he wants to join Chelsea. “I would never discuss such a conversation. I have a good relationship with Anthony,” he said. “We don’t need Anthony to go [add] more players – [but] we need help with the team there [the final third].” Tom Davies was slated to start, but a knock during the warm-up meant Demarai Gray was drafted in and would prove the tie-breaker. Before that, Everton were stylish. Iwobi fed his left wing-back, Rúben Vinagre, whose cross, aimed at Rondón, should have created the opener, but the No 9 missed his header. Brown’s men could be just as cute. One trick was for Ged Garner, playing behind the eponymous centre-forward Joe, to turn forward to link up with Harvey McAdam or Cian Hayes in midfield. Start your evenings with the Guardian’s view of the world of football Privacy Notice: Newsletters may contain information about charities, online advertising and content sponsored by external parties. For more information, see our Privacy Policy. We use Google reCaptcha to protect our website and Google’s Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply. Rondón, again, should have scored when Dwight McNeil cut in from the right and chipped a ball to him, but his effort was wide. Brendan Wiredu now made a much bigger screamer by passing straight to McNeil. As Brown hobbled away on the touchline, the No 7 found Iwobi who fed Gray and as Stolarczyk paid the late substitute he made no mistake. Fleetwood had a street wisdom that could be traced back to the fighting midfielder of Brown’s day. The Scottish slang for this is “gallus” and there was plenty of it as Town flooded the Everton area, Drew Baker went down in a melee and the Highbury Stadium faithful screamed unsuccessfully for a penalty. Tom Reeves, the referee, was not impressed, but the cod army, defiant, continued in sledgehammer mode, trying to smash the blue wall. Joe Garner might have done it when he hit a bunt, but Vinagre, throwing the ball, stopped him. At the other end Patterson twice let fly and twice got his radar wrong. Amadou Onana then got upset, prompting a mocking scream from Brown in what he rated as ham-acting, and Town continued to press. This saw Everton dig deep and get the quality to push the opposition back, Iwobi spraying a curling ball to the charging Coleman. If that wasn’t enough to prevail, so was Town’s approach. Brown and his charges sent their fans proud.
