Newcastle United vs Everton. Premier League.
St James' Park, NewcastleAttendance52,135.
Report and free match highlights as Newcastle dropped points at home despite Alexander Isak’s early goal; Dan Burn had a goal disallowed before Dominic Calvert-Lewin’s 88th-minute equaliser from the spot; Everton now 13 games without a win
Wednesday 3 April 2024 12:02, UK
Dominic Calvert-Lewin came off the bench to score a late penalty and earn Everton a vital 1-1 draw against Newcastle at St James’ Park.
Alexander Isak had put Eddie Howe's side ahead early in the game to maintain his fine form and Newcastle had countless opportunities to double the advantage but paid the price for not finishing the job when Paul Dummett pulled down Ashley Young late on.
It took a VAR check to award it but the home side could have no complaints. For Sean Dyche, it was a reward for his triple change in the second half. Calvert-Lewin's first goal since October moves Everton four points clear of the drop zone.
There were ominous signs for Everton immediately when Jordan Pickford was forced into a smart save from Harvey Barnes inside two minutes and although James Tarkowski did have a headed chance at the other end it was not long before Isak had his moment.
The striker left Jarrad Branthwaite on the deck with a drop of the shoulder before finding the space he needed to arrow the ball into the bottom corner of the net. After scoring twice against West Ham at the weekend, it was another reminder of his quality.
He was the outstanding player on the pitch, Pickford denying him a second with his fingertips late in the first half, while Jacob Murphy and Sean Longstaff also had opportunities as Everton struggled. Dyche's side competed physically but struggled for any rhythm.
The second half started with Tarkowski deflecting the ball up onto his own bar as Newcastle pushed for the second. They thought they had it when Dan Burn had the ball in the net after a clever free-kick routine but it was ruled out for a narrow offside against Isak.
Dyche made a triple substitution in a bid to change things and was almost rewarded when James Garner, one of those introduced, cut inside and whacked the ball against the inside of the far post. The problem was that this opened the game up for Newcastle too.
Barnes danced past Ben Godfrey out wide and fed Isak whose firm shot looked certain to find the net only for Vitalii Mykolenko to clear off the line. It proved to be a pivotal stop by the Ukrainian defender because Everton were gifted a route back into it.
Dummett had only just come onto the pitch when he manhandled Young inside the penalty box and though it required a VAR check to award the penalty, it was a relatively straightforward decision. All that remained was to see if Calvert-Lewin could hold his nerve.
The striker had not scored in 23 appearances in all competitions and his confidence must have been knocked. But the striker struck the shot firmly and though Martin Dubravka got a hand to it, he could not deny Calvert-Lewin his moment.
Newcastle had conjured a win from nowhere with three late goals against West Ham at the weekend. Here, they dropped two. As for Everton, they are now on a run of 13 without a win - they have not gone 14 since 1937. This still felt like a precious point.
"I thought they gave everything," Howe told TNT Sports. "It was a decent performance. We needed the second goal really. I thought we had it with a quick free-kick but VAR played its part there and the penalty. We were on the end of two tight decisions."
Asked about the penalty, Howe said: "I think it is both players grappling each other. Unfortunately for us, it is just that Paul's arm is quite high around Ashley Young and that has made the decision but I think it is one of those that could have gone either way."
While Dyche's substitutions paid off, the introduction of Dummett for the injured Lewis Hall did not work out for Howe. Are injuries costing his side? "It is more the in-game changes. You saw the impact of subs when we played West Ham," he added.
"We were unable to make the changes that would have made our performance better today but we have to accept that. It is the position we are in. Bar the penalty, I think we would have gone on to win the game 1-0. It would have been a tight win but a deserved one."
"I'm really pleased," Dyche told TNT Sports. "We took a knock on Saturday with a late goal, it gives you a knock as a team. We were very good, we know they've had injuries but they still put out a fair side. I thought we did really well, particularly in the second half.
"I'm really pleased for Dom, he's been working hard. We're trying to mix and match to keep people fresh. I'm sure he'll be feeling better for a goal and deservedly so.
"I'm not sure what you have to do for a penalty, because we can't get them. We had one on Saturday, I don't know how it wasn't given. I really don't know why they had to look at this one 300 times. The lads have seen it, they're not getting involved because they're not allowed to, but I don't know why it takes so long to give it.
"After the second-half performance, we certainly deserved a point."
Newcastle are back in Premier League action on Saturday, travelling to Fulham; kick-off 3pm.
Everton are also playing on Saturday, host Burnley at Goodison Park; kick-off 3pm.
