IRELAND’S SEAMUS COLEMAN was pleased to wear the captain’s armband as his Everton side beat Southampton 2-1 at Goodison Park yesterday.
Theo Walcott found the back of the net with 15 minutes on the clock off the back of a free-kick before new arrival Richarlison was on the mark once again to double the Toffees’ lead.
Danny Ings did pull one back for Southampton in the second half but Everton did enough to hold on as Marco Silva oversaw his first win.
And Donegal man Seamus Coleman enjoyed the Premier League outing immensely, crediting his sides’ vibrant attacking display.
“I have my own standards, with or without the armband, but it is a big honour to captain this club at any level and I am very proud to do it in the Premier League,” he told the club’s official website afterwards.
“We wanted to start at home as we mean to go on. The fans were looking forward to the new regime, a new manager and new players, and we needed to put on a show, which I thought we did.
“And more importantly, we got the three points.
Coleman added: “The attacking players linked up brilliantly at times. They were great and very lively in front of goal.”
“We are really enjoying having Richarlison in the team for the attacking quality he provides but also for his work ethic.
“But it was not just him. I thought Theo (Walcott) was great, Cenk (Tosun) held the ball up brilliantly and Gylfi (Sigurðsson) always puts in a great shift. They all did really well.”
👏🏼 | Today's captain put in a typically tireless shift to help us get the win.
— Everton (@Everton) August 18, 2018
More from Seamus ➡️ https://t.co/UhGrex3KTc pic.twitter.com/O62SSL0Iqv
Silva took over at the helm at the end of the 2017/18 season, replacing Sam Allardyce and after last weekend’s 2-2 draw with Wolves, he now has his first Premier League victory with the Merseyside outfit under his belt.
“The manager is very detailed and wants to get everything right,” Coleman continued.
“We worked on the free-kick during the week and to see it come off on matchday is very rewarding for the coaching staff.
“He wants us pressing, winning the ball back, passing it forward and playing attacking football and I think the fans enjoyed it.
“We did not deserve to be under pressure towards the end and conceding a goal from a set piece was the disappointing thing today, so we definitely need to iron out a few things.
“But we created enough chances to have won comfortably and can be very positive about that performance and result.
“It was massively important to make sure we got the three points.”
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