Sam Allardyce Lauds 'Dominating' Display as Toffees Ease Pressure With 2-0 Brighton Victory

Sam Allardyce has praised his Everton side's 'quality' after they ended Brighton's seven match unbeaten run with a 2-0 victory on home soil.

An own goal from Gaetan Bong and Cenk Tosun's maiden Goodison Park goal proved to be the difference for the Toffees in front of their own fans, and put to bed the back-to-back away defeats that they had suffered over the past fortnight.

Allardyce told the Blues' official site in the aftermath of the clash that his team fully merited the three points for their 'dominant' display in front of the expectant Everton faithful and stated his pleasure at the overall performance put in by his troops.

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He said: “Our quality told in the end. We were only missing that quality in the final third in the first half in order to go in front after dominating it. When we produced that quality we got our noses in front and deservedly so.

“After Yannick Bolasie’s ball, it is a shame it’s an own goal and not a Theo Walcott goal. It was a quality cross into the box and Theo has put pressure on the defender.

“The second goal was why we brought Cenk to the Club. That’s two in two for him now. That came at the right time for us because going into the final stages of the game 1-0 up can be nervous.

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“Then we saw a little bit of quality from Dominic [Calvert-Lewin] for the penalty and it was a shame Wayne missed it.

“Overall it is a very good performance at home, which isn’t unusual. It was what has been delivered on a regular basis. Our record over the past 10 home games is seven wins, two draws and only one defeat. On that basis we are a top six side in points gained.”

Allardyce reserved special praise for Rooney who, despite seeing his late spot kick saved, pulled the strings in midfield for the hosts.

The gaffer added: “Wayne had a good performance in a deeper roll. I thought he mastered that position. He was our prompter, kept the ball moving and the flow of our attacks going.

“After the hiccup of losing Idrissa Gueye and Morgan Schneiderlin to illness first thing this morning, we were left a little bit wanting in terms of who could play defensive midfield. So that’s why I am so pleased about Wayne and what he did today.”