News: Moyes pleased with players despite defeat

David Moyes says Everton's pre-season games are going according to plan despite the side going down 1-0 to River Plate on Sunday.

Everton looked good but were beaten by a fantastic strike from Ariel Ortega in their first game in America. But despite the loss, Moyes was happy with the commitment shown by his players in the early stages of pre season.

However the Scot vowed not to ask for too much from his players as his squad is not up to full numbers ahead of the big kick off in August.

He said: "The group that played basically played all last season and they are well versed in what we do and how we play.

"What we are definitely missing are the other boys who are injured. The likes of Jags [Phil Jagielka] and Yak [Yakubu] and Mikel [Arteta] will make a difference and give us alternatives that we don't have.

"Because of that, I just don't want it to become a drain on the other players and have them doing to much but, in the main, they have done a good job. The pitch was very poor but overall, I'm not unhappy."