Neal Maupay says now is not the time for Everton to feel sorry for themselves after missed chances and a soft penalty cost them dear against Tottenham Hotspur. The forward called on his teammates to focus on the midweek trip to Newcastle United rather than dwell on the defeat in north London. And he backed Demarai Gray and Amadou Onana to take their next opportunities after both blazed over from promising positions with the game goalless. Maupay acknowledged the game could have turned out differently had one of those chances been taken and said the key emotion in the dressing room after the final whistle was disappointment.
Neal Maupay said: “We are getting better and I am 100% confident in the team that we will get there and we will have a good season.”
Speaking after the 2-0 defeat at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium,
Neal Maupay said: “It is tough to lose the game. I thought in the first half our plan was working pretty well, we had two really big chances but it is football, we couldn’t score and then just one mistake against a big team and these players and we got punished. It is frustrating but we can’t feel sorry for ourselves. We have got a game on Wednesday and it’s a big game and we need to win… We are obviously disappointed about the result but we have got another game on Wednesday and we can’t feel sorry, we can’t be too down, we have got to get our heads up and be ready for it because it is coming quick. We have got Wednesday and then Saturday and in this league if you feel sorry, if you are not 100% ready, you get punished, so we have to move on quick.”
Everton weathered early Spurs pressure and, while the hosts had spells of domination, the Blues repelled their attacks in the first half. The two biggest opportunities fell to the visitors with Gray and then Onana racing through but shooting over Hugo Lloris’ goal. Reflecting on those misses,
Neal Maupay said: “It is football. Sometimes you score, sometimes you don’t. They were both great chances and I back Dimi and Ama to score the next one, 100%. You can’t blame them. Dimi’s was a great run, Ama’s the same, and we have just been a bit unlucky. Obviously if we would have scored and it was 1-0 at half-time it maybe would have been a different game. But that is football I guess. In the first half they had a few chances as well and they didn’t score. So I don’t think it is a problem. The problem is when you don’t have chances and when you don’t create chances to score – that is a problem. We do have chances so the next game they will score, we will score and we will get some points.”
Asked what Lampard told his players at half-time,
Neal Maupay explained: “He said just to keep going. I think the plan was good but we knew that we couldn’t drop our level and the intensity and I think that is what we did, maybe because I think we felt comfortable in the game and then we got punished – one mistake, they scored and we were 1-0 down and then everything is harder. It was a tough game.”
Spurs took the lead on the hour mark after Jordan Pickford was adjudged to have brought down Harry Kane, who scored from the spot. It was one of several decisions that frustrated Everton – including an early booking for Maupay for an innocuous challenge on Eric Dier that the 26-year-old felt was harsh. Despite the defeat, Maupay is confident Everton are making progress.
Neal Maupay said: “We feel that we have got good players, we have got a strong squad and good coaching staff behind us so we are confident in the fact we will have a good season. But it doesn’t happen just like that, it takes time and the problem in this league is even if you do well, because there have been games where we have done well but we have drawn, you need to get points at the end so that is the most important thing. But I think we have played 10 games, there are a lot more games to play and we are getting better and I am 100% confident in the team that we will get there and we will have a good season.”
