Bournemouth condemned a conservative Everton side to their first defeat under Sam Allardyce.

Allardyce handed James McCarthy his first start of the season at the Vitality Stadium as one of four changes from the Boxing Day draw with West Brom.

Ryan Fraser volleyed the hosts ahead when he turned home a Jordon Ibe cross as Bournemouth took advantage of slack Everton defending.

But the Toffees struck back when substitute Oumar Niasse squared the ball to Idrissa Gueye for both his side’s equaliser and his second goal of the season.

However, as the game opened up, Bournemouth appeared the more likely to grab a winner and did when Fraser tired a looping shot beyond Jordan Pickford.

Here were the key talking points from the South Coast:

Big Sam at his worst

 

In a turgid first half, Everton offered very little going forward as the decision to play three holding midfielders did not help engineer many opportunities.

Starting Idrissa Gueye, Morgan Schneiderlin and a returning James McCarthy was not even partially justified as the hosts were able carve through the middle of the pitch on several occasions.

There was a marked improvement when Wayne Rooney replaced McCarthy at half time as the Blues took the decision to be braver against a mediocre Bournemouth side.

But by the time Everton needed their defensive midfielders as they looked to hang on for a point, they only had Schneiderlin left on the pitch.

It proved no surprise that Eddie Howe’s side were able to find a winner and punish Sam Allardyce for a confusingly negative approach.

Martina still feeling unlucky

 

For large parts of this season, Cuco Martina has not shown much to suggest he will be keeping Leighton Baines out of the left-back slot when fit.

The Curacao international has also suffered with some terrible luck as he came off worse in a 50/50 during the first half, McCarthy opted not to put the ball out of play and instead try to find a teammate.

However Martina lay in the way of his Irish teammate’s only option, resulting in a blind pass straight to Callum Wilson who helped set up the opening goal as a result of that hospital ball.

Blame cannot be apportioned to Martina but given his wretched season this was the latest addition to a compendium of poor performances and misfortune.

New strikers can’t come quick enough

 

Another fruitless game for Dominic Calvert-Lewin ended on 54 minutes after he spent the vast majority of his time without another blue shirt in sight.

With the impending arrival of Cenk Tosun, the young striker may actually welcome the addition of another forward so we can share the workload.

Calvert-Lewin looked fatigued and has yet to develop his hold-up ability sufficiently to play as a lone striker in this side on a weekly basis.

Some time out of the side to rest, both physically and mentally, might actually do the the England under-21 front man some good.

Schneiderlin heading for the exit door

 

Before the game, Allardyce warned his players that some of them are playing for their Everton future, with Oumar Niasse and Morgan Schneiderlin just two.

Although Niasse only had 35 minutes to make an impact, he played a crucial role in the equaliser for the Toffees as he laid on a great pass to Gueye.

The striker demonstrated plenty of willing and also managed to hold the ball up markedly better than Calvert-Lewin, the man he replaced.

In stark contrast, Schneiderlin was sloppy in possession, gave away needless fouls and, at one point, took his frustration with Jonjoe Kenny out on the young full-back after he miscontrolled a pass.

Understandable though that frustration may have been, the midfielder would have been wise to look a bit more inwardly at his own performance first.

Schneiderlin has not enjoyed the best of seasons by any stretch of the imagination and it would not be a shock to see him heading for pastures new.