Yerry Mina's 99th-minute equaliser earned Everton a point against Wolverhampton Wanderers but it remains to be seen whether it will be a crucial point in the bid for Premier League survival.
The Blues fell behind to a first-half goal from Hwang Hee-Chan but it was a similar story for the travelling fans as Sean Dyche's side struggled to nullify Wolves' threats.
Mina's second goal of the season could be one of the most important in his career on Merseyside but with Leeds United and Leicester City still to play their 37th game of the Premier League campaign, it remains to be seen whether it will hold importance or not.
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Everton now have to rely on results to go in their favour and win against Bournemouth at Goodison Park on the final day of the season if they are to keep their record of not being relegated since the 1950s intact.
Here is how the national media reacted to the draw at Molineux plus thoughts of the Liverpool ECHO's Joe Thomas.
Rob Draper of the Daily Mail wrote:
‘Fight for us’ read the banner in the Everton end unfurled at the beginning.
But it looked like, hard as they had tried, fighting alone wouldn’t be enough for this team. That they were just not good enough. That they would be undone by first-half injuries that had completely disrupted their game plan.
They had Michael Keane at centre forward by the end, which is never a good sign. And Jordan Pickford up for corners.
We were in the 98th minute and to be fair, they were at least still fighting. But not many truly believed. It was very much a ‘hit and hope’ approach.
And as the 99th minute was about to signal the end of injury time, Demarai Gray swung in his cross. It was a curling, decent delivery but still predicated on finding the big man at the back post and seeing what havoc he could create. There wasn’t much more to it than that.
Ben Fisher of The Guardian wrote:
Might Everton look back on Yerry Mina poking in at Molineux to salvage an unlikely point with six seconds of nine minutes of second-half stoppage time to run as a defining moment in their fight for Premier League survival? It certainly felt significant as a blue haze, courtesy of flares lit by the travelling support, descended over this ground and the noise booming from the away end at full-time suggested this was a priceless takeaway.
A first relegation since 1951 is still a distinct possibility for Everton – they hover precariously a place and two points above the bottom three and their fate is no longer in their hands – but for Leeds and Leicester, who play across the next 48 hours, the late drama here represents a major blow to their hopes of staying up.
Until Mina converted from inside the six-yard box after Michael Keane exhibited some neat footwork, it appeared the game might be up for Everton, their top-flight status hanging in the balance. The sight of Jordan Pickford going up for a corner deep into added time spoke to Everton’s desperation to take something from this game. Wolves cleared the initial corner but Everton recycled their attack down the left flank through Demarai Gray, who sent a cross towards the back post. James Tarkowski beat Dan Bentley, the Wolves goalkeeper, to the punch and his downward header dropped for Keane, who squared the ball for Mina.
Nick Mashiter of the Independent wrote:
Yerry Mina’s last-gasp leveller at Wolves earned Everton a priceless point in their fight for Premier League survival.
The defender struck with seconds left to grab a 1-1 draw to give the Toffees hope after Hwang Hee-chan had given Wolves a first-half lead. Their 69-year stay in the top flight remains in doubt and Sean Dyche’s side could still find themselves in the drop zone before next week’s finale.
Leeds go to West Ham on Sunday before Leicester’s trip to Newcastle on Monday and victory for both would lift them above Everton. As it is, they sit two points above the Premier League’s bottom three ahead of the visit of Bournemouth next Sunday.
Dyche had told his players to ignore the noise but they struggled for long spells and again lost Dominic Calvert-Lewin to injury. It will spawn a nervous Goodison Park, which saw its last relegation from the top flight in 1951.
Phil McNulty of the BBC wrote:
Everton's fight to avoid the drop into the Championship will go down to the final day of the season despite Yerry Mina snatching a dramatic equaliser deep into stoppage time at Wolves.
The Toffees looked on course for a damaging defeat until Mina pounced in a goalmouth scramble in the final seconds of nine minutes of additional time to give Sean Dyche's side what might prove to be a priceless point.
Everton must now anxiously await how other results pan out to discover the full extent of their task when they face Bournemouth at Goodison Park.
Wolves went ahead in a scrappy encounter after 34 minutes when Hwang Hee-Chan scored from a rebound after Everton keeper Jordan Pickford had pushed out Adama Traore's shot.
Everton's best opportunities came with two first-half headers from Dominic Calvert-Lewin but they suffered a severe blow when the injury-plagued striker was forced to limp off with a hamstring injury on the stroke of half-time.
It now rests on that crucial clash with Bournemouth as Everton attempt to avoid their first relegation from the top tier since 1951 but this may yet be the point that helps to maintain their Premier League status.
Liverpool ECHO's Joe Thomas wrote:
The last player Sean Dyche turned to may be the one who has saved Everton’s future.
For months, the absence of Yerry Mina was a subject of debate among supporters. As Everton stuttered and stumbled through another relegation battle and the defence leaked goals and the attack lacked penetration, the Columbia international was pitched as a potential solution at both ends of the pitch.
Just as it appeared he may have played his final game for the Blues, Dyche relented. His faith has been repaid handsomely.
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