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Ellis Simms now shares what Sean Dyche told him just before scoring equaliser vs Chelsea
Ellis Simms proved to be the hero of the day for the Toffees at Stamford Bridge in a game where Sean Dyche needed his team to twice come back from behind.
At 2-1 down with a minute of normal time remaining, Simms ran onto Abdoulaye Doucoure’s perfectly weighted pass down the left, his strength and pace proving too much for the experienced Kalidou Koulibaly, before a composed finish passed Kepa and levelled the tie to a 2-2 draw.
Speaking with the the 22-year-old has revealed what instructions Sean Dyche gave him ahead of his 79th-minute introduction: “Just to run in behind, work hard and just play my normal game, really. Obviously, whenever I come on I want to help the team the best way I can and I feel as though I did that by getting the goal.”
It’s always satisfying to see an academy graduate progress in the senior team, and there has been an excitement around Ellis Simms for some years.
Ellis Simms could be the answer to striking woes at Everton
Scoring an impressive 32 goals in 21 league games for Everton’s U18’s during the 2018/19 season, with 46 goals in total in all competitions, only exemplified the Oldham-born forward’s potential.
Progressing to the U23’s, Simms scored eight goals in 12 games in the first half of the 2020/21 season, before joining Blackpool on loan, where he scored 10 goals in 19 outings.
The striker has enjoyed other successful loan spells at Hearts and Sunderland, before being recalled to Everton in January as the Blues looked to reinforce a stunted attack.
Everton’s forward line has been muted all season, with Dominic Calvert-Lewin unavailable for much of the campaign and Neal Maupay out of form. However, Ellis Simms can provide a useful option off the bench for Sean Dyche.
The 22-year-old displayed composure beyond his years to level the tie at Chelsea, and it is unlikely that either Calvert-Lewin or Maupay would’ve scored from such a position, with Calvert-Lewin a more potent threat in the air, and Maupay lacking the strength required to out-muscle opposition such as Koulibaly.
Simms’ outstanding cameo against Chelsea was his sixth appearance so far this season, with five of those from the bench, and with his first goal for the club under his belt, hopefully his Stamford Bridge strike will be the first of many in an Everton shirt.