Ashley Young
The veteran full-back provided a crucial assist in stoppage time to secure an equalizer for Everton against Fulham on Saturday. His cross to Beto, who headed home, ensured that the Blues escaped with a 1-1 draw. Despite earning a point, Everton struggled throughout the match and were largely outplayed by Marco Silva’s side. Former Blues midfielder Alex Iwobi scored for the visitors in the second half, and Fulham wasted several chances to extend their lead. However, contributions from Young and Beto helped Everton salvage a point, extending their unbeaten streak to five matches before their upcoming game against Southampton.
Ashley Young said, “You see the way we’ve gone about our job, we’ve given up possession. We knew at times that Fulham would have a lot of possession. We wanted them to go wide and that’s exactly what we did. We gave them a lot of possession, but we’ve got that attitude where we can give up the possession and when we get the chance to create and get in the box, that’s when we hit the [opposition]. We’ve got that never-say-die attitude. We knew putting the ball in the box, putting [Michael Keane] up as a striker and we knew how to play off the bits. We got Keano and Beto in the box and boys who could put the ball in the box. I gambled to get to the back post to try and fire something back across goal and Beto was there to head it in.”
Reflecting on his role in the team,
Ashley Young said “I’m in the team to do a job and to give that experience and get on the ball to play passes forward. Like I say, we were slightly disappointed, to be honest, after the game with the goal that we conceded and in the manner that we conceded it. But with the fight and the team spirit that we’ve got here, we know that we could go to the 95th minute and we knew we were going to create a chance. It was just being able to get on the end of it and score it.”
Young, who joined Everton on a free transfer last summer, has faced some criticism but is currently in his best form for the club. Although he no longer charges forward as frequently from the full-back position, he has been an effective playmaker, providing three assists in his last three games. However, despite his contributions, Young expressed disappointment over the team’s failure to keep a clean sheet against Fulham.
