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Kenny misses chance to stake claim ahead of Coleman

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OPINION

It was another disappointing day at the office for Everton in their 1-0 defeat to Watford on Saturday, but perhaps the player most frustrated will have been right back Jonjoe Kenny.

The 21-year-old was given a rare start ahead of usual incumbent Seamus Coleman at Vicarage Road, but he failed to take his chance in a lacklustre performance.

He committed a major gaffe for Andre Gray’s match-winning goal, being badly caught out by the bounce of the ball. It was a rookie error and perhaps a reflection of the player’s inexperience. Whether Coleman would have dealt with it or not we’ll never know, but it certainly won’t have helped Kenny state his case for further starts moving forward.

Coleman has had a poor season by his high standards, which is why Kenny was preferred to him on Saturday in the first place. So this was a big chance for the youngster to impress.

It’s a shame for him, then, that he couldn’t take it, and it would be no surprise to see the Republic of Ireland international reinstated at right back against Cardiff City next time out.

That has suddenly become a massive game for for the beleaguered Toffees. They need to ensure victory against the Bluebirds and so Marco Silva might go with the known quantity in Coleman.

Kenny will have wanted to present himself as the number one option on the right hand side of the defence, and in that he certainly failed. He needed to leave no questions about his status as a starter and that’s just not what happened.

Coleman won’t have been sweating watching the young pretender on Saturday. No, the Irishman will feel pretty secure in his position after Kenny fluffed his lines against Watford.

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