Newcastle 1 – 1 Everton
Dominic Calvert-Lewin scored his first goal since October to cancel out Alexander Isak’s opener as Everton wrestled a point from Newcastle in a tough contest at St James’s Park.
The Toffees’ striker took responsibility for an 88th-minute penalty and hauled his side back to parity after Jordan Pickford had kept them in the game, the Magpies had a goal chalked off for offside and James Garner struck the woodwork.
As expected, Sean Dyche set an unwanted Premier League record for matches without a victory at 13, equalling the longest post-War sequence the Club has gone without winning a league game set in 1957, but he will feel somewhat vindicated by a triple change after an hour and the fight his charges showed in the game.
Even if it didn’t always translate into clear goalscoring opportunities, Everton at least displayed an attacking intent that was wholly and unforgivably absent at Vitality Stadium last Saturday when they lost to Bournemouth – something to take into this weekend’s huge home game against Burnley.
Yet they might well have drawn first blood this evening after Pickford had made his first telling contribution with a terrific stop at close range to foil Harvey Barnes, first when Dwight McNeil laid the ball off for Abdoulaye Doucouré but the Frenchman blazed over and then when Beto was clipped and James Tarkowski cleared the bar with a gilt-edged chance from the resulting free-kick.
Having wasted that chance, it was Tarkowski’s awful positioning that directly led to the Magpies’ goal. Sitting too deep, he was left in no-man’s land when Barnes lofted a ball over his head to Isak and the Swede deftly turned Jarrad Branthwaite, drew a premature lunge from the young defender and calmly slotted it into the far corner.
Jacob Murphy ballooned an effort well off target after 28 minutes while Beto, starting in Calvert-Lewin’s stead, lashed a terrible shot of his own well wide before both sides went close just before the break.
Arguably Everton’s best move of the first period saw Amadou Onana thread a pass to Doucouré in the box but his attempted curler searching out the top corner was placed too close to Martin Dubravka who comfortably plucked it out the air.
Back at the other end, Pickford made another superb save, this time with his leg to keep Murphy’s far-post volley out before Isak’s shot took a slight deflection and flashed inches over the bar.
Tarkowski, something of a liability for much of the contest, almost prodded into his own net four minutes after the restart but was relieved to see the ball bounce off the outside of the post.
Nine minutes later, Newcastle thought they had doubled their lead. Everton’s defence appeared to go to sleep while organising an uncomfortably high line, Isak collected the pass and centred for Dan Burn to convert in front of goal but the striker was found by VAR Michael Salisbury to have been fractionally offside as he peeled off his man.
As the game passed the 60-minute mark, Dyche withdrew Onana, Beto and Doucouré, throwing on Garner, Calvert-Lewin and André Gomes and the former Manchester United midfielder came within an inch or two of making an almost instant impact.
Vitalii Mykolenko, back in the side having recovered from the flu as one of four changes to the team that has lost at Bournemouth, found Garner in the box and he feinted back on to his right foot and struck a low, side-foot shot that, agonisingly, came back off the inside of the post rather than bouncing in.
Mykolenko then from provider to saviour a few minutes later when Barnes teed Isak up for what looked to be a certain goal with a cut-back from the byline but the Ukrainian was perfectly placed to block the shot on the line and it was hacked to safety.
The hosts kept the ball alive and Barnes narrowly missed the far post with a shot from the angle as the game really started to come to life.
Dubravka parried from Ashley Young, in from the start in place of Jack Harrison, at one end and Pickford pushed away a drive from Bruno Guimaraes at the other but when Young was dragged down by the neck by Barcodes substitute Paul Dummett, referee Tony Harrington was eventually prompted by the VAR to review the incident on the pitch-side monitor.
The officials came to the sensible decision that Everton should be awarded only their second spot-kick of the season, one which Calvert-Lewin duly converted with enough power that the keeper couldn’t keep it out despite guessing the right way.
Nine minutes went up on the Fourth Official’s board and though the tiring McNeil had a decent look from the edge of the box, he smashed it into the stand behind the goal, the only real chance either side had to win it in the time added on.
Dyche’s ignominious place in Everton’s modern history is now assured, surpassing an ugly record that became synonymous with Mike Walker’s failed tenure as the Blues’ boss, but there was enough on show in this game to suggest that he might be able to keep the club in the top flight this season, assuming the verdict from the second independent commission into breaches of the League’s Profitability and Sustainability Rules isn’t another hefty points deduction.
Where his side have looked toothless, aimless and devoid of spirit on many occasions in recent weeks, there was at least some fight about them this evening and enough attacking intensity to instill hope that they can get a much-needed win over the Clarets at Goodison Park this weekend.