Everton wild statistic does not tell the real story of another missed opportunity

It was fitting that Everton’s Carabao Cup campaign would end with a fierce effort struck too close to Southampton goalkeeper Alex McCarthy. That was the story of the night. The question that now matters is this: What happens next?

There is a case to argue that this result does not really matter. Following the defeat to Aston Villa, Sean Dyche acknowledged that, as seriously as he took the cup competitions, the Premier League had to be his priority this season. Few fans would dispute that.

And context is important to this result - Dyche had to patch together a side at short notice after illness added to the injuries that already restrict his options. Even then, Everton could - and probably should - have won this match.

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But the problem is this is not a defeat that sits in isolation. It is another loss that will add to the frustration created by a miserable start to a generation-defining season for Everton. This could be the final cup game hosted by Goodison Park and, if that is to be the case, this was a disappointing full stop on that storyline. The Grand Old Lady’s final year has so far been characterised by celebrations in the away end, not the home stands. That needs to change.

While few would dispute the Carabao Cup is the least of Everton’s priorities, one thing cup competitions do offer is hope. That is why nearly 40,000 supporters packed Goodison once again to cheer their side on. It is where this match could have been so important - 12 months ago a shock win at Aston Villa at the same stage proved to be a turning point after another tough start.

It is also why the introduction of Ashley Young midway through the second half was met with boos from some sections of the fanbase. It was not the personnel but the decision, in taking off Beto, to remove Everton’s focal point. Beto struggled in this match, but a target man is essential to the tactics Dyche feels he has to deploy to give his team a chance. That it would be Young who would miss the all-important penalty was one final, cruel twist.

So where can Everton take hope from? Two highly-rated teenagers started and once again showed signs they could compete at senior level, Roman Dixon offering an attacking threat from right back and Harrison Armstrong, at just 17, adding another landmark to his remarkable summer with his first senior start.

And Everton did create chances, even with a depleted squad. Enough of them to win this match. Two fell to Jesper Lindstrom, either side of the break. On both occasions he did what Young did with the last kick of the game - with the goal gaping he struck his effort too close to McCarthy. They would come back to haunt Everton.

While attention will focus on those misses, at least there were opportunities. They, in part, were down to the raw pace Lindstrom and Dixon provided down the right. Dixon and Lindstrom used their speed to win the corner from which Everton took the lead in this match, Abdoulaye Doucoure nodding in after first Jake O’Brien and then Michael Keane kept the ball alive.

A two goal advantage was not enough for Everton in the past two league matches but probably would have been too much for this Southampton side. Lindstrom could have provided it with the first of his golden opportunities when he was sent through by Doucoure. Beto then had his best chance when Everton exploited the visitors’ high backline and was through on goal only for Taylor Harwood-Bellis to sweep across and knock him to the ground, fairly winning a crucial battle of strength.

That challenge was essentially an assist, sparking the counter attack that led to Dixon bringing down Ryan Fraser by the Everton corner flag. Charlie Taylor’s cross was met by Harwood-Bellis and the scores were level. They stayed that way until the end, Lindstrom’s second half chance, after being sent through by a well-won flick from Beto, being the closest either came to ending this before the late drama.

So there were positives to cling onto. But, for the lottery that penalties may be, Everton supporters left Goodison with disappointment, and rightly so. This was yet another missed opportunity, another lead that turned into a defeat and another match that hinted at the existence of problems rather than solutions.

It was another game in which a lack of ruthlessness proved costly, where set pieces caused defensive issues, and another in which the limitations of the squad were exposed. Summer signings Orel Mangala, O’Brien, Iliman Ndiaye and Lindstrom gained more minutes on their pathway to integration into this squad but this was a case, in many ways, of different players, same story.

Dyche’s options were limited due to illness and injury and that is not his fault. But the size of this squad means he does need to find a way to regularly put out a side that can impose itself on games and control them, at least for periods. By the end of this match Southampton had clocked up 74% possession.

The display was not as dominant as that statistic suggested, but is another barometer by which this team and its progress will be judged on. Goodison, in its final, historic year, does not want to see a passive team. At times, the home side - against an opponent also bereft of confidence after also losing each of its opening four top flight games - was a passenger in this fixture. It is not just the results, therefore, that are a problem but the manner of them.

Everton now need to find a way to seize the initiative. They will be helped in the coming days, with Dominic Calvert-Lewin, James Garner and Vitalii Mykolenko all likely to return from illness. When Everton lost a Carabao Cup shootout to Fulham last season it sparked a four month league winless streak. Work has to go into ensuring that it is the opposite story this year. Leicester City on Saturday is a game of far more significance than anyone would like it to have at this stage of the season.

It is the best place to find a big result - something Everton have returned from the King Power with on its two most recent visits. That is, at least, another source for hope.