Video nasty
Everton got their apology after the Manchester City debacle but VAR still isn’t doing Frank Lampard’s relegation-threatened side any favours.
Despite it being St Patrick’s Day, there was no luck of the Irish for Blues captain Seamus Coleman when he went down in the Newcastle United area claiming a penalty.
It might not have been a stonewall spot kick like Rodri’s blatant handball but given that Everton’s skipper is not known as one the game’s divers, you wonder whether it was worth a second look.
Referee Craig Pawson just shook his head though and the visitors broke clear.
Allan Saint-Maximin, who ran Lampard’s side ragged in the reverse fixture last month – a 3-1 result that simultaneously sparked the Magpies’ revival and sent Everton into a downward spiral save for the 3-0 thrashing of Leeds United that looks increasingly like an anomaly – had just been introduced as a substitute and threatened to burst free.
Allan had no choice but to foul him and after chopping down the winger, he kept running away from referee Craig Pawson who produced a yellow card.
However, those on VAR duty for a Goodison game back at Stockley Park finally arose from their slumber and Stuart Attwell deemed the challenge was worth a second look.
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From that moment on it looked ominous for the Brazilian given that both his feet were off the ground when he made the challenge and he was duly given his marching orders.
Just think what Everton might be able to do if they actually get a VAR decision to go their way?
Top of the Bill
If you’d have written the story of this game as a West End play then they’d have probably dismissed the script as being too far-fetched but fact is sometimes stranger than fiction and Everton showed just what they’re capable when everyone at the club – on and off the pitch – pulls together.
Ultimately only the players on the pitch can save the Blues from relegation but they’re aided in their quest by the efforts of so many others.
One man who has seen it all in both football and knows that it’s the greatest theatre of all is their impresario chairman Bill Kenwright.
Like match-winner Alex Iwobi, the 76-year-old lifelong Blue has been a much-maligned figure at times with certain sections of the fanbase – including having to run the gauntlet of disgruntled supporters who confronted him in the street on Goodison Road following the 1-0 defeat to Aston Villa in January – but he made the journey up from London on Wednesday to make a special trip to Finch Farm.
Following Everton’s training session, Mr Kenwright offered words of encouragement to Frank Lampard’s players and squad.
On this occasion at least they did him proud.
It’s to be hoped that this dramatic victory can finally prove to be some kind of turning point in what has been the most miserable of seasons.
Ending the drought
Are Everton going to party like it’s 1999?
The Blues had gone 471 minutes or almost eight hours of football since last scoring in the Premier League 34 days ago against Leeds United but in the end, Alex Iwobi’s 99th minute strike proved to be the difference.
Following the 1-0 defeat at the same venue to Wolverhampton Wanderers on Sunday, parallels were drawn with the Easter Monday home defeat to Sheffield Wednesday in 1999 when Walter Smith’s side dropped into the relegation zone for the first time in the season.
While goal difference spared Everton such ignominy on this occasion, there was an eerie quietness around Goodison after the final whistle at the weekend with an almost resigned feeling among many that their fate was perhaps sealed.
Lampard’s side needed someone to step forward, like Kevin Campbell did 23 years ago, and grab things by the scruff of the neck.
While any repeat of a nine-goal burst in five matches for any individual player seems fanciful, just a bit of a purple patch from any of the players would be welcome.
They huffed and puffed here for long periods and in truth created little during considerable spells but this game was all about the result.
The wait for free-flowing football might have to continue but unlike those rousing victories against Arsenal and Leeds, this needs to be the start of something for Everton.
Getting it in the neck
Just when you thought Everton’s season couldn’t get any wilder, their game with Newcastle United suffered a long delay early in the second half when a pitch invader attached themselves to a goal post.
The bizarre interruption in front of the Gwladys Street, had echoes of a similar incident a decade ago when a fan handcuffed himself to a goal post at the other end of the ground.
This time, the intruder used some kind of zip tie to attach themselves to the upright while wearing an orange t-shirt emblazoned with the slogan “Just stop oil.”
As a finite fossil fuel, oil of course won’t last forever but prices are rising right now and it’s going to be around long enough to bankroll Newcastle United’s benefactors who are planning to revolutionise things at St James’ Park through their Saudi billions.
In the long-term, Everton might find it difficult to keep pace with the Magpies’ recently-acquired spending power but as they’ve shown themselves since Farhad Moshiri’s arrival, you still have to spend wisely with even the most-ambitious of owners.
The last thing the Blues needed was a strange distraction like this in a game of this magnitude but thankfully the antics did not cost them.
Indeed, the final result, 1-0 to the hosts was the same as it was the last time someone pulled this kind of stunt at Goodison against Manchester City in 2012.
Let’s not make a habit of it though.
There’s a time and a place and running on to the pitch should be restricted to the players themselves.
