A Tom Cleverley header has secured some late Christmas cheer for Everton as they secured a first win in a month in an entertaining battle at St James’ park on Boxing Day.
In an up and back-type contest, Tom Cleverley’s late looping header found the bottom corner to condemn an unlucky Newcastle to a home defeat.
The first half was one dominated almost entirely by the Toffees, who employed a now synonymous style of fast-paced counter-attacking football.
Ultimately, it was the same story for them come the half time whistle, with minimal end product to show for their efforts. That kept Newcastle in with a chance despite the Toon conceding the majority of possession.
Daryl Janmaat can consider himself somewhat fortunate to have stayed on the pitch on 4o minutes after what appeared to be a second bookable offence went unpunished.
Newcastle regained a toehold on the contest after the interval with the momentum shifting. Like Everton though, they could not find the back of the net with two terrific chances coming within moments of each other at either end.
Tim Howard was called into action with 15 minutes to go, reacting superbly to an Aleksandr Mitrovic header. Moments later, slack marking by Moussa Sissoko allowed Ramiro Funes Mori a sight on goal from a corner, forcing Rob Elliot to match the efforts of his American counterpart.
An excellent saving tackle from Chancel M’Bemba saved a certain Romelu Lukaku goal after a quick counter, appearing to save the Toon a point.
The ensuing corner was when Cleverley struck. Elliot’s clearing punch at a corner had done almost enough, only for the ex-Manchester United man to crane a header back in on goal to beat everyone.
The win is Everton’s first in a month after a run of three draws.
A seesawing contest
The opening 45 saw a clear discrepancy in quality, with Everton controlling play in its entirety. Newcastle could hardly enter the Blues’ half of the field with Funes Mori and John Stones sitting on the halfway line.
The action post the interval was a different story. The Magpies were able to wrestle back some of the momentum as the contest began to even out, with sights on goal at either end with spells of possession shared in equal measure.
A game that threatened to burst open did just that in the final quarter of an hour, with counter-attacks becoming all the more important. That always seemed likely to happen after an energetic first half on a soggy pitch.
Everton convert one point to three
Both teams had their chances to win the game in the second half in particular. Funes Mori and Mitrovic traded blows at either end to bring the best out of both goalkeepers and the spoils looked set to be split from that point on; it would take a smash-and-grab style effort to win.
That is exactly what Cleverley delivered with the final action of the match. Elliot’s punch found the top of the area, the position Cleverley was occupying. He did not mess around, heading first time over the goalkeeper and beyond the Newcastle players tracking back to the goal line.
That header finally sees Everton turn one point into three after a run in which they turned three points into one on as many occasions.
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