Dominic Calvert-Lewin ended a 23-game goal drought as he scored a late penalty on Tuesday to give struggling Everton a 1-1 Premier League draw at Newcastle United, who will rue several missed opportunities in a match they largely dominated.
Everton were desperately poor in the first half but improved with the introduction of James Garner and Andre Gomes off the bench to take some control in midfield, where they had been over-run by their hosts following Alexander Isak's opener.
They were awarded the spot kick when Ashley Young was hauled to the floor by Newcastle defender Paul Dummett, who had only just come on to the pitch, and Calvert-Lewin netted his first goal since October.
"He has been working hard and getting in the right areas. He strikes it well enough to go in and I am pleased for him and the group," Everton manager Sean Dyche told BBC.
"Tonight was a really good performance, particularly in the second half. We finally found a penalty, we don't get many. They got the right decision and we scored.
"I know we are capable of getting wins and results, we haven't scored as many as we would like but the mentality is right and certainly right tonight."
Everton stay in 16th place with 26 points from 30 games, four points above the relegation zone, while Newcastle are in eighth with 44 points, also from 30 games.
➕1️⃣@CalvertLewin14 💬 pic.twitter.com/nigrDAnsQT
— Everton (@Everton) April 2, 2024
NEWCASTLE DENIED
Isak had earlier scored for the fifth home game in a row for Newcastle after being played behind the Everton defence by Harvey Barnes, the Swede showing great composure to evade the challenges of James Tarkowski and Jarrad Branthwaite.
Everton have now gone 13 Premier League games without a win since a 2-0 victory at Burnley in December, a side they face next at Goodison Park on Saturday in what will be a key relegation six-pointer.
Newcastle thought they had doubled their advantage in the second half when Dan Burn put the ball in the back of the net, but Isak was offside before he slipped the ball to the defender.
Garner hit the post with a rare foray forward and Tarkowski did the same at the other end with a misplaced clearance that rebounded off his own goal-frame.
Newcastle were denied again as Isak had the whole goal to aim at from six yards, but Vitaliy Mykolenko headed his shot off the line.
"It (the penalty) was one of those that could have gone either way," Newcastle manager Eddie Howe told TNT Sports. "I thought the players were flat out and gave everything. It was a decent performance but we needed a second goal.
"Alexander Isak is an outstanding technician. He will probably rue the missed one but with attacking players you have to be in the position to score and he looks like he will score every game at the moment."