BIG SAM may have been back at home but the Allardyce affect was still there for all to see.
Everton’s new manager remained in England to keep a long-standing medical appointment.
All of the players who will be involved in Sunday’s Merseyside derby did not need to sort out their passports either.
The clash against Liverpool is too important to Allardyce for him to have risked injuries to any of his top men in Cyprus.
Yet Ademola Lookman scored two in the first 28 minutes as part of the youngest side Everton have fielded in Europe in eight years.
Nikola Vlasic slid home a third late on. Not those two nor any of the other fresh-faced kids who took on Apollon looked out of place at all.
Unlike, that is, their senior team mates who in the five previous Group E matches had scored four, conceded 15 and taken only one point.
There was belief and even a little brashness about the way a side that had six kids aged 20 or under went about their business.
Allardyce has only been around for ten days but already things are looking much less sticky for the Toffees. First team coach Craig Shakespeare, who stood in for his absent boss declared : “I’ll be giving him a ring but I’m sure he watched the game.
“And I’m sure he’ll be delighted because we played some really good stuff.
“We told all the kids that this would be a starting block for them and to score three away from home is fantastic.”
Lookman had already forced a decent save from Tasos Kissas when he rose to meet a cross from Vlasic – flashing his 21st minute header high into the net. He then thundered home a right footer from over 25 yards out.
That was spectacular enough.
But it came at the end of a 26-pass move which included goalkeeper Joel Robles, giving the lie to those Everton fans, especially, who see Allardyce only as a long – ball strategist.
Come 2.15pm and the fire and brimstone of Sunday at Anfield this dead rubber clash will be dead in the memory for most. But amongst the older heads, Davey Klaassen might remember it as a game in which he remembered how to play again.
Morgan Schneiderlin, wearing the captain’s arm band, also looked comfortable while Lookman made a claim for the subs bench at least against Jurgen Klopp’s men.
The 20 year old was only peripheral figure under sacked Ronald Koeman but Shakespeare added: “I certainly see him as an important player for Everton.
“He did well as did all the young players and this will give them a lot of confidence for the future.”
From The Sun
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