Daily Mirror - 19.08.2019

19.08.2019 DAILY MIRROR

mirror.co.uk/sport/football^13

DM1ST

I’VE PICKED

MYSELF UP

scores after Joe Rafferty

had put Preston ahead.

His second was a

powerful header to win the

game after George Byers

had fired the Swans into a

lead which Daniel

Johnson’s penalty had

wiped out.

It has helped that Borja

has added muscle to his

wiry frame while on loan

with Malaga and Alaves in

Spain and he added: “Now,

I have more experience.

“When I came here

before, I had scored a lot of

goals in Spain but the

football here is different.

“Now, I have the

confidence

to play and

fight with the

defenders.

“And my

team-mates

also have

more

confidence

in me.”

Swansea

fans will also hope that

Andre Ayew, another relic

from wealthier times, can

be retained.

The Ghana forward linked

well with Borja, although

Preston should have ended

the Swans’ unbeaten start

under new boss Steve

Cooper by taking the glut of

chances they created in the

first half.

Defender Rafferty said:

“That was frustrating. But

our second half wasn’t as

good as the first.

“There’s no point

moping. We have to put it

right against Stoke on

Wednesday.”

MOTM BORJA BASTON (SWANSEA)

SWANSEA: Woodman 6,

Roberts 6, Van der Hoorn 7,

Rodon 6, Bidwell 6, Fulton 6,

Grimes 7, Dyer 5 (Ayew 21, 7),

Celina 8, Kalulu 5 (Byers 45,

7), Borja 8 (Surridge 80, 5).

PRESTON: Rudd 6, Fisher 5,

Bauer 6, Davies 6, Rafferty 7,

Pearson 7, Bodin 6 (Barkhuizen

80, 5), Gallagher 6, Johnson 6

(Browne 80, 5), Maguire 6,

Moult 5 (Green 23, 5).

IN ASSOCIATION

WITH

BY GRAHAM THOMAS

BORJA BASTON wants

to stay at Swansea and

fire them back into the

Premier League.

The Spanish striker

scored twice to make it

three goals in as many

games since he returned

from a loan move last term.

Both carried the

hallmark of an instinctive

finisher and offered a

reminder as to why the

Swans spent

£15.5million

on the

26-year-old

three years

ago, when

they were

afloat on the

milk and

honey of

top-flight

TV cash.

Relegation dried that to

a trickle and if the Welsh

club receive a decent offer

for Borja (being challenged

by Ben Davies, above)

before the European

deadline of September 2,

they will be tempted to sell.

He hopes not, though,

and said: “I want to score

more goals to help the

team to go forward.

“Since I came back to the

club, I am a different player

from before. I have more

confidence now and I hope

to show my qualities to the

fans and to the club.

“For now, I am happy in

Swansea. I am playing and

scoring goals. I am training

every day and playing

matches, so that is the

main thing.

“I’m very happy here and

I want to stay. I want to

score more goals for this

club and I think I will stay.”

Borja’s first goal was

swept precisely into the

corner and levelled the

BORJA: MY GOALS

CAN HELP SWANS

FLY BACK TO PREM

SWANSEA 3

Baston 45, 69, Byers 63

PRESTON 2

Rafferty 11, Johnson 67 pen

49% POSSESSION 51%

4 SHOTS ON TARGET 5

5 SHOTS OFF TARGET 5

4 CORNERS 9

1 OFFSIDE 0

12 FOULS 10

0 0 CARDS 1 0

MATCH STATS

REF: Dean Whitestone ATT: 15,250

COMING UP...

FACT ROOM...

EVERTON

Fri Aston Villa (away) .......PL

Sep 1 Wolves (home) ............PL

Sep 15 Bournemouth (away) ..PL

WATFORD

Sat West Ham (home) .......PL

Aug 31 Newcastle (away) .......PL

Sep 15 Arsenal (home) ...........PL

THEY SAID IT...

The three points were the most

important thing. We scored a goal

and did not concede and that was

important for us. Looking at the

whole picture I think we deserved

the win. MARCO SILVA

Everton have won five consecutive

Prem home games for the first

time since April 2017.

Watford boss Javi Gracia has lost six

consecutive matches in all

competitions for the first time in his

career as a manager.

Watford have conceded 12 goals in

all competitions without reply.

Amongst defenders, only Liverpool

duo Trent Alexander-Arnold (14) and

Andrew Robertson (11) have been

directly involved in more Prem

goals than Everton’s Lucas Digne (9)

since the start of last season.

Jose Holebas has received a

yellow card in 35% of his Prem

games, only Cheick Tiote has a

higher ratio (38% - 52 in 138).

Everton have kept six consecutive

clean sheets at Goodison in the

Prem for the first time since Sept

2013.

mirror.co.uk/sport/football

EVERTON

Pickford ...........................................7

Coleman BOOKED ............................7

Keane ..............................................7

Mina ................................................ 6

Digne .............................................. 6

Gomes BOOKED .............................. 6

Gbamin ........................................... 6

Richarlison ..................................... 5

Sigurdsson ..................................... 6

Bernard ...........................................7

Calvert-Lewin ..................................7

SUBS

Walcott (Richarlison 63) ................ 5

Kean (Calvert-Lewin 72) ................ 5

Holgate (Digne 73) ........................ 5

WATFORD

Foster ............................................. 5

Femenia .......................................... 6

Dawson ............................................7

Cathcart ......................................... 6

Holebas BOOKED .............................7

Doucoure........................................ 5

Capoue BOOKED ............................. 6

Pereyra BOOKED ............................. 6

Deulofeu ......................................... 6

Deeney ........................................... 6

Hughes ........................................... 6

SUBS

Welbeck (Hughes 67) ..................... 5

Cleverley (Deulofeu 79)................. 5

Gray (Capoue 83)

STATS YOUR LOT...

44% POSSESSION 53%

2 SHOTS ON TARGET 2

6 SHOTS OFF TARGET 4

301 TOTAL PASSES 382

66% PASSING SUCCESS 72%

4 CORNERS 7

3 OFFSIDE 1

11 FOULS 11

0 2 CARDS 3 0

JORDAN PICKFORD

MAN OF THE MATCH

REFEREE

Lee Mason

ATTENDANCE

39,066

Jordan learns from past mistakes to

stake claim as England’s No.1 again

industry we are in. When you have

got England No.1 stamped on your

back you are always going to get

criticised, even if you do good

things or bad things. But you learn

from it. It’s great.”

Everton rode their luck – and the

form of their keeper –

taking a decisive early

lead after only 10 min-

utes when the tricky

Bernard shot through

the legs of two defenders

to deceive visiting

keeper Ben Foster.

But Silva wasn’t

entirely happy: “We know we can

do better, and we must,” he said.

with a header, but it was Pickford

who starred, saving bril-

liantly one-on-one with

Troy Deeney, having

earlier denied Etienne

Capoue.

For Pickford, the re-

sponse to that

blunder at

Newcastle

gives him pride.

“Yeah, I am pleased,”

he said. “I think it shows

the character I have got.

“It doesn’t faze me if I

make mistakes because

I’m the type who learns from them.

“You will get criticised – that’s the

the fans – as a former Sunderland

player – get to him.

Since then though, he

has used the inevitable

scrutiny to feed his form

and drive him on.

“I don’t reflect too

much,” he said. “I take

criticism and I like criti-

cism because it makes

me want to get better as a goal-

keeper.

“I work hard on and off the pitch,

in the gym. I give 100 per cent every

day to be the best that I can be as a

goalkeeper.”

Watford were denied an equaliser

when Craig Dawson hit the bar

SAVIOUR

Pickford sealed a

clean sheet with

saves like this from

Troy Deeney

WATFORD boss Javi Gracia

admits his side’s lack of goals is a

huge problem.

The Hornets had little

sting at Goodison,

spurning several big

chances, not least

when Abdoulaye

Doucoure missed a

sitter late on.

Gracia (right) accepts

that at Premier League level

no side can afford to be so

wasteful in front of goal without

being punished.

It was the sixth Watford

defeat in a row, and

Gracia is hoping the

answer could lie with

Danny Welbeck, who

made his debut as a

second half sub, even

if he doesn’t want to

put pressure on the

former Arsenal man.

“He was a long time injured, so

I am happy for him that he has

been able to play his first game,”

said Gracia.

“It depends with Danny on a lot

of things. He has just arrived and

has not played much football, so

we have to be careful. But he has

quality and he can be a goalscorer.

“We have not taken our

chances, so that is an issue, and

we need to be calm when we

create these chances. He can

bring us that.”

DANNY’S WEL AND RARING TO GOAL

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