Daniel Feliciano

Thu 7 December 2023 21:32, UK

Everton claimed a huge three points at Goodison Park as Dwight McNeil’s second-half strike earned a win over Newcastle United and lifted them out of the relegation zone.

The first half was a very stop-start clash between the two sides and the best chance fell to Dominic Calvert-Lewin who chested down and blazed over inexplicably from six-yards out.

The second half was just as tight and neither team really had any clear-cut openings, although Anthony Gordon went close after pouncing on errors from James Tarkowski.

But then McNeil pounced on a big mistake from Kieran Trippier and drove forward from the halfway line before blasting a left-footed strike into the top corner to lift the Toffees out of the drop zone despite the 10 point deduction. Abdoulaye Doucoure then added a second late on before Beto notched in the 96th minute to wrap up the points.

Here is how Goodison News rated the performance of each Everton player in the game..

Jordan Pickford – 6/10

Pickford seemed extra emotional on the night but his distribution was good and he was vocal enough to keep Newcastle from really creating anything of note. Solid performance.

Seamus Coleman – 5/10

A return for the skipper went well mostly. He kept Anthony Gordon quiet for the most part but his touch was rusty, his passing wasn’t the best and he just looked a tad off the pace. To be expected though after so long out, and was nice to see him back amongst it.

James Tarkowski – 6/10

The ex-Burnley man has proven why he’s one of Dyche’s trusted soldiers and this is why. Made two unbelievable tackles in the first half to deny Newcastle but a couple of errors on the ball almost led to a Magpies goal in the second half.

Jarrad Branthwaite – 8/10

Isak is one of the best strikers in the Premier League but you could be forgiven for not knowing he was playing because Branthwaite had him tied up all night. Made some big interceptions, was strong aerially and used his pace when he needed to. A stellar showing.

Vitalii Mykolenko – 5/10

Defensively he was alert and did his job excellently, but going forward he was quite wasteful with his passing and didn’t really do enough to cause Newcastle any problems going the other way.

Idrissa Gueye – 3/10

Gueye is an experienced old head and good defensively, but we are hugely missing the presence and quality of Amadou Onana right now. Gueye made countless costly fouls that weren’t needed, got booked and offered very little defensively after that. Needs replacing in the summer.

Abdoualye Doucoure – 7/10

One of Dyche’s most important players was moved into a deeper role after Garner’s illness scuppered plans on game day, and still managed to be his dominant self. He still got from box-to-box well and did his work, and got a goal to prove he’s more than good enough to play here regularly.

Ashley Young – 6/10

The veteran has struggled at full-back in recent weeks, but this was one of Young’s better showings and it’s no surprise it came in his more natural position further up the pitch. He helped Coleman well defensively and put in several dangerous crosses too.

Jack Harrison – 4/10

The Leeds loanee was largely invisible for most of the game in the number ten position, and his form in recent weeks has gone down the drain. Arnaut Danjuma must be wondering what he needs to do to get a game.

Dwight McNeil – 7/10

Another one of Dyche’s favourites, McNeil struggled to get the better of Kieran Trippier in this game and his best work came defensively as he stopped the England full-back causing too much havoc for our defenders. Did brilliantly to pounce on an error and find the top corner too.

Dominic Calvert-Lewin – 7/10

Calvert-Lewin was the perfect Dyche striker in this game, but the only thing missing was the finish. He caused big problems for the centre-backs all night with his physical presence, won flick-ons to bring his teammates into the game and had chances too. Just didn’t take them.

Substitutes

Nathan Patterson – 6/10

Beto – 6/10 – Came on, did everything Calvert-Lewin did and got himself a goal on top of that. Great showing.

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