Match Review - Leeds 1 Everton 2 - Blues end Elland Road Hoodoo

Elland Road. Just the name should be enough to send shivers down the spine of every Evertonian, such is the horrendous record that we have there. Unbelievably, Everton have only won one of the last 37 top flight away games against Leeds (thanks to a certain Wayne Rooney), and of the 45 sides Everton have faced at least 10 times away from home in top-flight history, our lowest win rate is against Leeds (6%).

So after the dismal performance against Newcastle on Saturday and with us absolutely having to bounce back, a midweek trip to Leeds was just what the doctor ordered.

Most of the pre-match Twitter chat centred on whether or not new signing Josh King was available for selection having made an 11th hour switch to the blues on Monday's deadline day. It had been thought initially that the transfer had not been completed in time for him to be eligible for this game, so it was a pleasant surprise and a big boost to see him named among the substitutes.

A quick word on the signing of King before I continue. I for one was more than happy when the signing was confirmed on Monday. I completely understand why some may have reservations given his age and the fact that his numbers in the Championship this season have not been great.

However, he is a player with Premier League experience who can provide cover for the front 3 positions. He brings pace which is something we have often lacked in attacking areas. Carlo Ancelotti was quoted as saying that King was not signed to score goals specifically, but with a return of 48 goals in 161 Premier League games playing for a team often languishing around the relegation places he will add a goal threat which none of our other attackers besides the 3 usual starters can boast.

King was not the only unexpected selection change made by Carlo Ancelotti. Both Michael Keane and James Rodriguez also began the game from the bench. The Keane decision I was slightly puzzled by and can only assume this was due to some sort of fitness issue.

I had suspected Ben Godfrey might have been used in his preferred centre back position tonight to provide us with more pace in the central areas, but I would have assumed Mina would be the one to drop out.

The decision to leave Rodriguez out was one I could understand a little more. This was likely to be a game in which we would be required to do a lot of defending and where most of our attacking play would come on the counter. It follows that a ball carrying player like Iwobi was perhaps more suited to the tactics we would look to employ in an end to end game.

What the presence of King and Rodriguez on the bench meant was that for the first time in a long time we had game changers ready to bring on should they be required - a luxury we have so seldom had, demonstrated by the fact that we are 1 of only 2 teams in the league who have yet to see a substitute score a goal.

The game started with Leeds immediately on the front foot as expected - they had forced a corner within the first 30 seconds. Everton did not panic though and our game plan was clear - press high before dropping back into a compact unit to restrict the play of the Leeds attackers through the middle of the pitch.

Just 9 minutes in this approach paid dividends. Andre Gomes played a superb long pass over the top for Lucas Digne to run on to. Digne ended up backed into the corner with no way out, but somehow managed to dig out a peach of a cross which Gylfi Sigurdsson turned home having ghosted into the box unmarked. It was the perfect start for us as it not only helped to erase the memory of Newcastle early doors, but it gave us something precious to defend.

If you have watched Leeds at any point this season then you will know that the goal did anything but deter them. They continued to attack in the same fashion and to be fair we rode our luck at times - not least when Ezgjan Alioski crashed a 25 yard left footed volley off the post from a corner, denying him what would have been one of the goals of the season.

Doucoure covered an awful lot of ground and did his best to break up the play but I felt we needed more of a shield in front of the back 4 than Sigurdsson and Gomes were providing as we seemed to face wave after wave of attack.

One thing that can be said about this Everton side though is that, certainly since we reverted to the 4 centre back defensive line, we can defend. We rode out the prolonged spell of Leeds pressure superbly well, kept the energy levels and intensity high and eventually got our reward.

Dominic Calvert-Lewin had been on a dry spell by his standards before this game. In his last 9 Premier League games he had scored just once from 19 shots - a conversion rate of just 5% - when in the previous 9 games he had notched 10 goals. So he will be as pleased as anybody that he was able to get on the end of a front post flick to tap in our second and put us 2 goals to the good at half time.

Predictably, as Everton seem so often to be incapable of playing well for a full 90 minutes, we started the second half terribly. It left me pulling my hair out - surely they knew Leeds were going to come out of the traps quickly but we seemed so unprepared, and had soon conceded a goal as a result.

It was a poor goal to concede having defended so well in the first half. Mason Holgate failed to clear his lines in the box which allowed Bamford to lay off for Raphina to finish and get Leeds back into the game. It was a goal Leeds probably deserved on the balance of play but I was really disappointed in how we gave it up so easily.

The feeling then was that we were in for a long 45 minutes. The intensity we had shown in the first half had completely disappeared and we struggled to get out of our own half. We appeared to retreat further and further towards our own box and had Robin Olsen to thank on numerous occasions for keeping us in front.

But the players dug deep and fair play to them. They had to defend for their lives and defend they did, led by Ben Godfrey who was an absolute man-mountain on the night. By far and away our man of the match and looks more and more a bargain every time he plays.

This was the type of game that Everton don't normally win. So many times in the past our soft underbelly has prevailed and we end up drawing or even losing, throwing away points that should have been in the bag.

Carlo Ancelotti has slowly begun to change the attitude of the players in games where we are in front but under the cosh. Where previously we might have folded, now the players stand and fight. It is so good to see and will be exactly what we need come the business end of the season.

Onto Man United on Saturday then and hopefully the same fight will be on display. We owe them one.

Positive - Robin Olsen

Missed out on my MOTM because Ben Godfrey was just that good, but I can't be the only one that thinks this fella deserves a run in the team now? He just deals with everything with minimal fuss - exactly what you want from your number 1 and not what we are accustomed to seeing week in week out currently.

Negative - Another Game of Two Halves

Harsh to pick out a negative when we have picked up another 3 points on the road, but I would just love one of these days to see us play well for 90 minutes.

Player Ratings

Olsen - 8 - outstanding display, made some crucial saves at crucial times and a calming influence at the back

Digne - 7 - looked more like the Digne we know, fine defensively and trademark assist

Holgate - 6 - had a decent game but sloppy error gifted Leeds a way back into the game

Godfrey - 9 - absolutely immense MOTM display, what a signing he has been

Mina - 8 - commanding performance at the back, always in the right place

Doucoure - 8 - covered every blade of grass in midfield, proper box to box midfielder

Sigurdsson - 6 - got his goal and did generally ok

Gomes - 7 - thought he was good at both ends of the pitch tonight, helped to move us up the pitch with his running

Iwobi - 7 - went out of the game in the second half but thought first half he played really well, justified his selection ahead of Rodriguez

Richarlison - 7 - ineffective going forward again but worked so hard defensively

Calvert-Lewin - 6 - pleased he scored but thought his overall contribution was poor tonight, wasteful in front of goal and decision-making was off

Keane - 7 - brought the assurance to the defence that it needed to see the game out

King - N/A - not on for long enough

Davies - N/A - not on for long enough