Everton 1 Tottenham 1
Antonio Conte branded Tottenham’s players selfish after they squandered a precious away lead in his final game in charge before the international break. The criticism may have stung Spurs but they did not learn their lesson. The 10 men of Everton salvaged a precious point in their bid to avoid the drop courtesy of Michael Keane’s stunning 90th-minute equaliser.
A Harry Kane penalty, minutes after Abdoulaye Doucouré had invited a straight red card for foolishly raising his hand to the England captain’s face, looked to have given Cristian Stellini victory in his first outing as Spurs’ acting head coach following Conte’s dismissal. Lucas Moura then evened up the numbers by seeing red for a dreadful foul on Keane and, two minutes later, with Everton staring at a defeat that would have left them in the relegation zone, the recalled defender let fly with a 25-yard drive that flew beyond Hugo Lloris to rescue a merited point for Sean Dyche’s team.
Evertonians again marched in protest against the board of directors before kick-off, their concerns over how badly the club is run heightened by the grim warning in the latest accounts that Everton’s viability as a “going concern” will be in doubt in the event of relegation. Calls from the away section for Daniel Levy to depart as Spurs’ chairman showed discontent is not confined to clubs fighting for Premier League survival. And Dyche’s team displayed plenty of it.
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The game started at a frenetic pace with the home side pressing tirelessly and taking the game to Tottenham for the majority of the first half. It was a little too frenetic at times, with Everton lacking the finesse to turn sustained pressure into clear opportunities, but there could be no faulting the effort or determination on show from the hosts. Doucouré was pushed forward in support of Demarai Gray, who curled the first opening of the game over from the edge of the penalty area, although the front-runner was often isolated against Spurs’ central defensive trio.
Stellini’s side looked to punish Everton on the counter and created the better chances before the interval. Pedro Porro had the first when released in space down the right by Eric Dier. The wing back’s low shot was blocked by the outstretched leg of Jordan Pickford. Kane looked to have beaten his England colleague when Everton appeals for a foul on Alex Iwobi were ignored and Oliver Skipp drove towards the home defence. The ball broke to England’s record goalscorer inside the box who, having found his feet, swept a shot wide of Pickford only for the covering Keane to produce a fine clearance in front of the goalline.
Kane also steered a free header wide from close range when a delightful cross from Ivan Perisic found him lurking in space between James Tarkowski and Ben Godfrey. The striker’s anguished reaction suggested he knew he should have found the target.
Another inviting Perisic delivery from the left was destined for Porro at the back post but Dwight McNeil preserved parity with a vital clearance at full stretch.
The referee David Coote paused play in the 26th minute to allow players who are observing Ramadan – Idrissa Gana Gueye, Doucouré and Amadou Onana – to have a drink and something to eat.
Lloris was one of three changes Stellini made from the 3-3 draw at Southampton that proved to be Conte’s parting shot as Spurs manager. The veteran, straight back into the team at the expense of Fraser Forster having recovered from injury, was rarely tested despite Everton’s pressure and threat from set pieces. One explanation was provided by Gueye moments after the restart when Onana dispossessed Dier and his fellow central midfielder surged forward. Gueye had Doucouré free to his right inside the penalty area but opted to shoot and blazed over.
The game’s flash point arrived just before the hour mark. Kane conceded a foul with a trip on Gray then continued into a 50-50 with Doucouré just in front of the dugout, grabbing the Everton midfielder’s shirt as they collided. For some stupid, inexplicable reason Doucouré reacted by shoving the Spurs striker in the face. Kane collapsed to the ground in a theatrical heap but the referee had no option but to show Doucouré a straight red card.
Chants of “cheat, cheat, cheat” reverberated around Goodison towards Kane, who was booked for his part in the clash, but Everton shot themselves in the other foot when conceding a cheap penalty shortly afterwards.
Keane reacted a fraction slower than Cristian Romero when the pair attempted to seize on a Perisic header back across the Everton goalmouth and sent the Spurs defender sprawling.
Coote immediately awarded a penalty and Kane elevated his pantomime villain status in the eyes of the home crowd by sending Pickford the wrong way from the spot. – Guardian
