Ashley Young’s evening for Everton in their League Cup clash against Southampton could not have gone much worse after he was booed with ‘very loud jeers’ after coming on for the Toffees on Tuesday evening – before he missed a penalty to send the club packing in the tournament as their wait for a first ever League Cup trophy goes on.
Everton went 1-0 up against the fellow Premier League relegation strugglers thanks to a header from Abdoulaye Doucoure to give the Blues hope. But Taylor Harwood-Bellis soon equalised with a header from a corner, and from there the teams played out a 1-1 draw which led to penalties. However, Young came on in that period, in place of striker Beto despite the Merseyside club chasing a goal. And reports have stated that it led to ‘very loud jeers’ around Goodison Park.
Everton Fans ‘Booed’ Young Upon Substitution
The Toffees fans weren’t happy at a striker coming off for a defender
As reported by BBC journalist Shamoon Hafez, under-pressure manager Sean Dyche’s decision to send a left-back on in place of a striker didn’t go down well with the Gwladys Street faithful – with the entire ground erupting into a chorus of jeers as Young was brought on. Hafez posted on X (formerly Twitter):
Shockingly, Everton boasted just 25 percent possession against Southampton, with the pair being the only two Premier League teams yet to pick up a single point this season. It will do little to inspire the fan base going forward, and having lost to the side that many believe will finish bottom of the division, it doesn’t bode well for the rest of the campaign – especially with Leicester City away from home on Saturday.
It’s not just the fact that Everton have tasted defeat in all but one of their games so far this season – the exception being a 3-0 win over Doncaster Rovers in the previous round of the cup – but it’s the manner in which they are losing. 3-0 and 4-0 losses to Brighton and Tottenham Hotspur respectively opened their account in the Premier League in the worst manner possible, but the losses continue to become harder to take.
