February 16, 2011
By Staff Reporter
In his EPL debut only two Sundays ago for Everton against Tottenham Hotspur, it took him less than 15 minutes to score his first goal. But his cool finish was overshadowed by Robbie Keane’s superb hat trick in the 4-3 win for Spurs. Nevertheless, in a matter of one week McBride was not to be denied his arrival on the Premier scene. In fact, he outdid Keane’s Irish international teammate Kevin Kilbane over the weekend. Sunderland opened the scoring through Kilbane in the 34th minute. But in the second half the U.S. forward struck a quick double in the space of 10 minutes, giving Everton their first win since early December. How many 31-year-olds do we know have scored three goals in their first two games in the Premier? Never mind being an American Major League Soccer player from Arlington Heights, Ill.
Everton’s boss, David Moyes, has brought the American to Goodison Park to solve the Toffees’ striking problems. Kevin Campbell was out injured. New goal-scoring sensation Wayne Rooney is also out, suspended. Besides, Moyes is extremely cautious about using the teenager for a full 90 minutes, and rightly so. Furthermore, Thomas Gravesen, David Weir and Tobias Linderoth have also been missing in action for Everton, so perhaps Moyes was forced to borrow Big Mac from Columbus Crew in the MLS. At the same time, Moyes has been an adamant admirer of the 6-foot-1, 170-pound forward. McBride played for the industrious coach at Preston North End in 2000. Back then Moyes tried to sign McBride for the Div. I outfit for