Brighton 1- 1 Everton
Everton just had to compose themselves and hold out for nine minutes of stoppage time to secure three precious points against 10-man Brighton but succumbed to Lewis Dunk’s gut punch at the Amex Stadium.
The Blues were leading through Jarrad Branthwaite’s brilliant 72nd-minute strike and were handed a further advantage when Billy Gilmour was shown a straight red card for an ugly tackle on Amadou Onana but failed to clear a late corner and paid the price.
Beto, on for Dominic Calvert-Lewin, failed to make proper contact with a couple of headed opportunities and squandered a gilt-edged chance to seal the victory but questions will be asked, partly of Sean Dyche but of his players in particular, over some questionable game management that allowed Roberto de Zerbi’s men to scratch out a draw.
Dyche had made the bold decision to leave Onana on the bench and retain the central midfield pairing of James Garner and Idrissa Gueye but corrected an error from Monday evening against Crystal Palace by leaving Ashley Young on the bench and restoring Jack Harrison to the right flank.
The improvement in Everton’s performance from a few days ago was readily apparent, with Abdoulaye Doucouré looking more like himself and the players appearing more comfortable with the ball at their feet but, unlike in this fixture last May, it was the home side who carried the early threat.
The first couple of a succession of first-half corners was repelled by the Toffees’ defence but they were almost carved open in the seventh minute but Danny Welbeck’s shot took a crucial deflection off James Tarkowski’s heel and skidded past the post.
Jordan Pickford almost pressed the self-destruct button a few minutes later when he, inexplicably, came haring out of his box and was relieved to see Welbeck prod the ball past him but also wide of the target.
The visitors tried at times to match their hosts’ ability to play out from the back but when Pickford abandoned it and clipped a pass towards Doucouré, the Frenchman was beaten in the air, Brighton quickly played Welbeck in where the keeper made a last-ditch save to keep the contest goalless.
Everton threatened for the first time midway through the half when James Garner curled a lovely ball into the Seagulls’ penalty area for Doucouré but Dunk got across well to snuff out the chance at the near post. Tarkowski met the resulting corner with his head but his knock back across goal found no takers in salmon pink.
At the other end, Simon Adingra turned Ben Godfrey and flashed a shot inches above the angle of bar and post and then turned inside the Blues’ full-back to fire goalwards again but this time Tarkowski was there to glance it behind to safety. Just as Dunk did from two other corners, Jan Paul van Hecke headed straight at Pickford from the ensuing set-piece.
Welbeck wasted a direct free-kick by driving it well over the bar after Garner had needlessly barged Pascal Gross over just outside his box but the best Everton move of the first 45 minutes should have yielded a corner. After playing a one-two with Dwight McNeil, however, Doucouré was incorrectly flagged offside by linesman Greg Dyke as Dunk edged Calvert-Lewin out at the near post.
Dyche was forced into a change less than five minutes after the restart when Gueye pulled up with what looked to be a groin strain, Onana coming on to replace him to upgrade the Toffees’ ability to move the ball around in midfield.
A minute later, Branthwaite had the chance to test Verbruggen in the Brighton goal but opted to try and head it back across goal to Calvert-Lewin who went down under the attentions of a defender but the referee waved away appeals for a penalty.
The opportunity of the game arrived a few minutes after that when, in almost a carbon-copy of Everton’s opener on this ground last year, McNeil crossed beautifully for Doucouré who met it with a guided right-foot volley but Tariq Lamptey had positioned himself in the middle of the goal and was able to head it off the line.
The match became a lot more even as the second period wore on and Beto could have had an immediate impact off the bench in the 68th minute when Harrison centred invitingly but the Portuguese couldn’t get proper purchase with his header and the chance went begging.
Two minutes later when Van Hecke scythed him down near the touchline, Beto was in the right area again as Garner curled in a dangerous free-kick but this time the striker failed to get a touch and the ball eluded Branthwaite as he came sliding in at the back post.
The big centre-half didn’t have to wait much longer to make the breakthrough, however, and he did so in some style. Pickford pumped a deep free-kick into the box from the halfway line that dropped to Branthwaite near the 18-yard line and he swept a beauty of a shot into the top corner to hand Everton a vital lead.
Despite the introduction of Ansu Fati, Pervis Estupiñán and Julio Enciso, Brighton continued to struggle to break Everton down as the Toffees entrenched themselves to protect the lead and their hopes of getting anything out of the game seemed to evaporate when Gilmour was given his marching orders with nine minutes of the regulation 90 to go.
The Scot went over the ball and clattered through Onana, leaving the Belgian writhing in pain and referee Tony Harrington with little option but to send him off.
That should have been all a Dyche team needed to see the game out or even kill the contest but when Doucouré released Beto and the Portuguese held off Dunk to bear down on the keeper, he slashed a wild right-foot shot well off target.
Brighton then managed to efficiently pass their way through Everton’s midfield and Pickford had to make a superb stop to deny Fati, adjusting his feet to palm the Spain international’s effort past the post.
Much to the bafflement and chagrin of the visiting fans and manager, the officials deduced that there should be nine minutes added on and Dyche’s next move was to withdraw one of his key outlets up top in the form of Doucouré and throw on Young in an attempt to bolster the back line.
And with a number of overhit long balls simply gifting possession back to Verbruggen for Brighton to mount fresh attacks, Everton simply invited trouble from their depleted hosts who desperately tried to fashion an equaliser.
Unfortunately, after Harrison failed to complete a clearance from a corner in the fifth minute of stoppage time and Beto allowed Gross to twist and turn back onto his favoured right foot, the German swung in a cross, Dunk was allowed to muscle his way into position and then head back across Pickford and into the net to wipe out the Toffees’ lead.
Everton had one last chance to take back all three points when Tarkowski picked Harrison out with a floated ball to the back of the area but despite having time to pick his spot, the winger curled his shot past the far post.
The consensus coming into this game was that a draw would be a good return from a difficult fixture against tough opposition but, in the Blues’ position – still uncertain over the outcome of their appeal against a 10-point deduction and fearing further censure by a second independent commission – they couldn’t afford to toss away two points.
Dyche has made defending narrow leads gained from set-piece goals a speciality since taking over from Frank Lampard but he and his charges dropped the proverbial ball from a massively advantageous position this afternoon and cost themselves the chance of moving three points clear of Luton at the bottom.
Playing a man better off, the Blues just needed to keep the ball intelligently and see the game out and, if they couldn’t do that, at least keep an important attacking outlet in Doucouré on the field in the hope of doubling the advantage late on.
Instead, they panicked somewhat and a series of failings at the back trying to clear the home side’s 11th corner of the game ended with Dunk robbing them deep into time added on. A decent draw ended up feeling like a costly defeat.
Though it’s now nine Premier League games without a win, the positives from an improved overall display can be taken into next weekend’s clash with out-of-form West Ham where the need to correct what is a poor record at Goodison Park will remain but a win on the south coast today would have eased that pressure enormously.