Alex Iwobi was the Everton hero on Thursday night at Goodison Park as the Nigerian scored the only goal of the match in the ninth minute of added time to give the Toffees all three points and some relief from the relegation waters.
Iwobi had his name sung loudly by the raucous Everton supporters. The Goodison crowd were energetic and vociferous in their support for their team, especially when Allan was sent off in the 83rd minute for a reckless tackle on Allan Saint-Maximin on a breakaway.
Everton started the night level on 22 points with 18th-placed Watford, having lost their last four Premier League games without scoring. There was fear and tension in the air but the Toffees started well and Iwobi won them the first corner in the fourth minute as the players plugged into the crowd’s energy.
Ben Godfrey’s header was well saved by Martin Dubravka. Chris Wood threatened the Everton goal with a header but stand-in goalkeeper, Asmir Begovic, made a comfortable save. Newcastle grew into the match and dominated the ball possession.
Almiron almost scored his first league goal of the season with an effort in the 23rd minute. Five minutes later, Fabian Schar almost caught Begovic off his line from all of 40 yards but the experienced goalkeeper recovered in time to make the save. The first half ended with Newcastle on top and bossing ball possession.
The early spectacle in the second half was that of a fan who bolted himself to the Everton goal and bolt cutters were needed to fee the man. The protester had on a tee-shirt with ‘Just stop oil’ printed on it.
The game got more fractured, especially between Richarlison and Dan Burn, who continually jostled and scrapped for every ball. Anthony Gordon forced Dubravka into a save on 78 minutes as Everton got more desperate for a goal. Then came the Allan foul. Referee Craig Pawson originally brandished a yellow card but VAR advised him to take a closer look and he decided the foul merited a red card.
At that point, it looked like the best result for Everton would be a draw and a point, especially after 14 minutes was added on.
But Everton players somehow found impetus, and in the 98th minute, Iwobi collected the ball from his captain and skipped two challenges before passing to Dominic Calvert-Lewin, who then laid off the ball into Iwobi’s path. The Nigerian did not have to break stride as he struck with his left foot to give Everton the much-needed goal and all three points.
They still needed to defend their goal for another seven minutes before Pawson blew the final whistle. They are still in danger but are three points better off and they still have two games in hand while Newcastle will be ruing their luck as they have conceded late goals in their last two matches: 1-0 loss to Chelsea and now to Everton.
