Late penalty helps Everton snatch vital point away at Newcastle
Coming off the back of their stunning comeback against West Ham on the weekend, Newcastle started on the front foot as Saturday’s game winner, Harvey Barnes almost opened the scoring inside two minutes, but the Englishman was denied by a smothering Jordan Pickford save.
Everton were not here to sit back though, and Sean Dyche was visibly frustrated that his side did not take the lead inside the opening quarter-hour.
First, Abdoulaye Doucouré fired inches over the bar from just inside the box, and then James Tarkowski rose highest to meet a Dwight McNeil set-piece but the centre-back headed over a few yards from goal.
Newcastle made their visitors pay for those missed chances after Alexander Isak continued his rich vein of goalscoring form, as the Swedish international showed great composure to latch onto a ball over the top, dribble through the Everton defence and slot home to net for a fourth consecutive PL game.
The Toffees responded well after falling behind, but they struggled to create any significant chances for the remainder of the half - failing to add to their 11 first half league goals this season, with only Sheffield United having fewer.
Eddie Howe’s men were firmly on top after the break as they looked to notch a second goal and it almost arrived in fortuitous circumstances as Tarkowski’s attempted clearance from a corner cannoned off the crossbar of his own goal.
The home side were relentless and thought they did find the second of the evening after a quickly taken freekick saw Isak released down the right before the striker squared the ball for Dan Burn to tap in, but the goal was ruled out for a narrow offside call.
Everton were not out of the contest and they gave the hosts a warning as James Garner - introduced on the hour mark - almost made an immediate impact as his shot cannoned off the post.
The game became an end-to-end affair as the Magpies went up the other end and almost doubled their lead. After Barnes intricately dribbled into the box, he picked out Isak but his effort was cleared off the line by Vitaliy Mykolenko.
Just as it looked like Newcastle were going to hold on for all three points, Everton were handed a lifeline following a VAR review for a foul on Ashley Young in the box.
Dominic Calvert-Lewin stepped up in the 88th minute to power home the resulting penalty kick for his first goal since September 2023. The points were shared in the end, lifting Dyche’s men four points ahead of the relegation zone, while Newcastle remain in eighth place.
Flashscore Man of the Match: Alexander Isak (Newcastle United)
