Everton 1 Stoke 0: Sam Allardyce at Goodison to see Shay Given’s own goal maintain Toffees’ unbeaten start

SAM ALLARDYCE was at Goodison to see if Everton could maintain their unbeaten start - but it was an Irishman who decided this clash.

New Toffees signing Ashley Williams was brought down by Phil Bardsley five minutes into the second half and though Leighton Baines' spot kick hit the post it rebounded in off a helpless Shay Given to go down as an own goal.

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But horror struck Goodison when paramedics rushed to a fan taken ill in the Park End.

Reports from the scene indicated that CPR was performed and a stretcher and defibrillator taken to their aid, with the supporter eventually being carried away on a stretcher.

FACTS, STATS, GOALS AND LOLS

• England manager Allardyce got an enthusiastic welcome when he turned up at Goodison Park. Well, the honeymoon period has only just started.
• Allardyce sat next to Roy Keane, who must have been disappointed Everton’s Ireland internationals James McCarthy and Seamus Coleman were again out injured.

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• Ross Barkley was booked after just nine minutes for a cynical foul on Mame Diouf. Not the way to impress Allardyce – although, then again…
• In a pre-match interview Barkley revealed he felt hard done by at not being selected for Euro 2016. And he recovered from that sticky start to remind everyone he is a classy performer.
• Everton fans booed Joe Allen every time he touched the ball. He may not have set the world alight in four years at Anfield, but once a Red…

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• Stoke captain Ryan Shawcross was relieved of man-marking duties at set pieces – as predicted by former team-mate Danny Higgingbotham in his analyst column for SunSport.
• Peter Crouch was handed a rare Premier League start after his midweek hat-trick against Stevenage. But his first impact was in defence, hooking the ball off the line with an overhead scissors kick.
• Mark Hughes was furious when Michael Oliver pointed to the spot after Bardsley tangled with Williams. He had a case - they seemed to fall over each other.

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• There was a sigh of relief around Goodison when Leighton Baines took the penalty. Fans were worried Romelu Lukaku, who has not scored in 11 games, would grab the ball.
• Everton’s seven points from their first three games under Ronald Koeman add up to their best Premier League start for ten years.

BIG PICTURE

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DREAM TEAM RATINGS

EVERTON: Stekelenburg 7, Holgate 7, Jagielka 7, Williams 7, Bolasie 7 (Davies 88, 6)  Gueye 7, Barry 7, Baines 6, Mirallas 6 (Kone 70, 6) Barkley 6 (Mori 84 6), Lukaku 7

Subs not used: Deulofeu, Lennon, Oviedo, Robles

Booked: Barkley, Barry

STOKE:  Given 8, Bardsley 6, Shawcross 7, Cameron 7, Pieters 6, Imbula 6 (Bojan 78, 5) Whelan 6, Diouf 6 (Sobhi 78, 6) Allen 6, Arnautovic 6, Crouch 7 (Walters 65, 6)

Subs not used: Adam, Haugaard, Muniesa, Ngoy

Booked: Pieters

STAR MAN: Shay Given 8

WHAT THEY SAID

Everton boss Ronald Koeman said: "Mark Hughes can be frustrated by the penalty, they're given for some teams and not for others."

Furious Stoke manager Mark Hughes said: "I'm pulling my hair out. Once again we've been damaged by another dubious penalty. I don't think the referee had a clear view of it, it was a tangle of legs."