Yerry Mina scored a 99th-minute equalizer to help Everton produce one of the close football scores of the weekend in the Premier League. Everton was aware that any outcome would put further pressure on the other teams fighting to stay up when Leicester, Leeds, and Nottingham Forest played later in the weekend. When Mina pushed the ball into an empty net with practically the last kick of the game, Everton was two points away from the relegation zone with one game remaining.
At Molineux, they had also made a strong start, and Hee-Chan Hwang’s goal (34) came against the flow of play following an incredible break by Adama Traore. Dominic Calvert-Lewin, a crucial player, will raise questions after being replaced at the conclusion of the first half due to injury. He was also taken out at halftime against Manchester City last weekend due to a groin strain, and he won’t be able to play in the encounter against Bournemouth on the last day. Everton has at least given themselves a chance to avoid the drop as the relegation race appears to be going down to the last day. However, they still risk finishing the weekend in the bottom three when Leeds plays West Ham before Leicester travels to Newcastle.
Within the first two minutes, Wolves nearly took the lead when Nelson Semedo drove down the right flank but Pablo Sarabia was unable to poke home his cross. However, Everton quickly started to have the majority of the opportunities as Calvert-Lewin fired against the side netting and then narrowly missed a goal from an Alex Iwobi pass. But shortly after the half-hour mark, the Wolves seized the lead. Traore launched a spectacular break that began just outside of his own zone. Jordan Pickford did a good job of deflecting his last effort, but Hwang was there to score on the rebound.
The hosts were energized by the goal and had a second almost immediately, but Pickford parried Joao Gomes’ attempt before Daniel Podence’s looping header sailed over the crossbar. In the first half, Everton also had to make two substitutions. The true blow came when Calvert-Lewin had to be substituted just before halftime, not when Nathan Patterson was hurt and had to leave the game. After being replaced at halftime against Manchester City, he was touch-and-go for the remainder of the match and failed to even make it to the intermission at Molineux.
Wolves controlled a large portion of the second half but were unable to score. Sarabia and Semedo both made attempts that were near but fell short. Everton got one of their finest opportunities of the game in the 69th minute, forcing Daniel Bentley into a stop. In place of the injured Calvert-Lewin, Demarai Grey sent a ferocious shot goalward, forcing the Wolves custodian to make an unconvincing save.
There were two occurrences during the nine minutes of additional time that could end up defining Everton’s season. To begin with, Pickford extended a powerful leg to stop Matheus Nunes from adding a second goal for the Wolves. Mina then poked home at the opposite end. Bentley fluffed his grab after a Grey corner was sent to the back post; up until that moment, Bentley had been dependable in preventing Everton from scoring from set pieces. After snatching up the stray ball, Keane found Mina just to his left, and the defender slotted in to give Everton a crucial point.
“Considering all the difficulties we had before to the game and, of course, the difficulties we encountered due to injuries, I’m happy with the outcome. The key is mentality, and we’ve been developing it. With a club that has made a lot of fuss over our away record, we are four games unbeaten away from home, so that is changing,” Everton boss Sean Dyche said. “The guys have taken on all of the modifications we’ve had to make to the game, including tactical adjustments and new methods of playing, and they’ve simply kept playing. That unwavering approach paid off for us. We kept digging into the details and asking inquiries, but nothing appeared to make sense for us. Then comes the easy part; in football, the little nuances matter a lot. Three centre halves combining like that [for the Everton goal] is extremely uncommon to happen in a game, but it occurred tonight, earning us a point.”
For more football scores, click here
