Everton manager Ronald Koeman praises strong bench after victory

Everton manager Ronald Koeman praised the strength of his bench as his side came back to beat West Brom on Saturday.

The Toffees were pegged back early on after a header from Gareth McAuley but after a rare first-half substitution that saw Romelu Lukaku come on, his side went on to win the game. 

Kevin Mirallas equalised on the stroke of half-time before Gareth Barry headed home the winner in the 60th minute with the game also seeing debuts for Yannick Bolasie and Ashley Williams.

Koeman praised the contribution of the former Crystal Palace man as well as the strength of his bench that helped him to a first win as Everton manager.

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"I hope every week I have the possibility of these kinds of substitutes because it really makes the team stronger. That's the reason because we need competition in the squad like every body," he said.

"Bolasie was very good, he had a big impact in his strengths in the second half. He had a fantastic cross and a big chance for us with Barkley.

"In a counter-attack, he had a very good movement and a good last pass to Lukaku but it was a pity not to score out of that because it makes it even more special for him on his debut for Everton today."

The travelling side put in a lacklustre first half performance which lead to the introduction of Lukaku, but Koeman was ultimately pleased with his side.

"It is always difficult to come to this place and Tony's teams always make it difficult for you with the direct play and the quality on set plays, the productivity and what they have and what they take out of that," he added.

"When it is 1-0, it's more difficult because they drop back much more and then you need really good football to break it open.

"We had to change the system because at that time, we needed a target man in front like Lukaku and allowed us to make the pitch more wide and create our own space and from then on, the team was the dominant team.

"A stoppage time goal is really a bonus and it's really a different situation for the home team and also for us at half-time and really gave us that step in the bag to really have the feeling to win the game.

"We showed that in the second half and it was a pity after the 1-2 because we had two big chances to kill the game but finally we get three points and it's the first away game so I think for everybody, that's very good."