After Idrissa Gueye had shot from a free kick, Dwight McNeil scored from a corner. Everton had a goal from a set-piece: just not how they intended. But then their recent goals tended to have a freakish element. There was Michael Keane, scoring in spectacular style from long range and for 10 men in injury time against Tottenham, which may not happen again. There was Ellis Simms, scoring in the Premier League, which may not happen again. There was McNeil, going out on his own as Everton’s top scorer by finding the net from a corner.
As the country’s lowest scorers breached its most frugal defence, it came inadvertently. If it was an entertaining, if irrelevant, oddity in itself, Everton would be still less potent without one-offs. Newcastle’s quartet at Goodison Park took their tally to 10 goals in five days. Everton have only got 10 since Sean Dyche took over. They only got 10 in the league under Frank Lampard from the start of September.
