by His arrival as manager of Crystal Palace was not a smooth one, but Oliver Glasner will have been inspired by his first sight of Roy Hodgson’s old team at Goodison Park. Palace were worth at least a point against regressive Everton, who need all the help they can get from their appeal against a 10-point deduction to stop another relegation gamble.
Sean Dyche believed the presence of the new Palace manager had boosted the visitors, who took the lead through Jordan Ayew’s superb strike and were on course for their first win at Goodison in almost 10 years save for substitute Amadou Onana to beat Everton late rescue. The draw took Everton out of the relegation zone on goal difference ahead of Luton, who played a lesser game, but in terms of performance they are going backwards.
Related: Everton 1-1 Crystal Palace: The Premier League – live reaction
Dyche’s side continue to rely heavily on set pieces for goals – Onana’s equalizer was his 10th goal from a corner this season – and are now eight games without a win in the Premier League. At home against a Palace team that has suffered managerial gambling in recent days, as well as 11 wins in the previous 18 games, Everton produced a terrible display. Another concern was the manager’s attempt to discuss it. “Oh no,” Dyche said when asked if this was a missed opportunity. “It’s another point on the table. We have just fallen out of the relegation zone too. Now we are waiting for the 10 points [verdict]but no I haven’t heard anything yet.”
The preservation of the Palace was positive. Glasner sat alongside chairman Steve Parish in the Goodison directors’ box after being confirmed as Hodgson’s successor shortly before kick-off. His predecessor’s coaches, Ray Lewington and Paddy McCarthy, took over as planned when the former England manager fell ill on Friday. The visitors switched to a three-man central defense with Daniel Muñoz and Tyrick Mitchell stretching Everton as wing-backs.
Glasner’s first impressions of English football were extremely unappealing. The two teams’ recent FA Cup ties lowered their expectations for their fourth meeting of the season and the first half was certainly underwhelming. It mainly consisted of Everton sending one long ball after another in the general direction of Dominic Calvert-Lewin with Palace centre-half Joel Ward, Joachim Andersen and Chris Richards absorbing them with ease. There was no plan B from Dyche’s team.
The defensive strength and organization of the visitors will have impressed the former Eintracht Frankfurt coach. Palace also had better chances in a terrible first half but poor finishing and a goalkeeping clearance denied Everton. Odsonne Édouard shot straight at Jordan Pickford and Jefferson Lerma chipped away at an inviting opportunity after being tripped by Muñoz. Jean-Philippe Mateta went close with a back post header from Adam Wharton’s deep corner but Ashley Young hacked clear on the line.
Everton’s pre-match hopes focused on the return of top scorer goalkeeper Abdoulaye Doucouré, making his second appearance since the team’s last league win on December 16 due to hamstring trouble. Doucouré was largely unknown although Dwight McNeil was released for Everton’s brightest moment before the break, when Calvert-Lewin headed in the winger’s cross. It was the end for a player who was low on confidence and now without a goal in 19 games.
In fairness to Everton’s centre-forwards he was far too isolated to make a meaningful impact. Calvert-Lewin not only hoped to win the first ball but the second as well. The fare was grim, with Everton’s lack of quality in possession and propensity to go backwards a severe test of Goodison’s limited patience. One minute of added time at the end of the first half was a mercy.
Jarrad Branthwaite, who endured a tough night against the powerful Mateta, escaped when he appeared to be trying to clip the forward’s heels as he broke into the area. Mateta also made light work of James Tarkowski’s attention and put Mitchell through on goal after keeping the Everton captain safe. Pickford was smartly off his line to smother the wing-back’s effort.
The course of the game seemed to be shaped by two contrasting minutes in two minutes in the second half. Everton should have taken the lead through Doucouré but instead found themselves on the back foot to Ayew’s pinpoint strike. Palace goalkeeper Sam Johnstone was central to both. Johnstone made a pointless save to prevent Tarkowski heading home McNeil’s corner. It was Idrissa Gueye who pulled the reversal shot across goal and into the path of his fellow midfielder. Doucouré, alone at the back post, had a golden four goal chance and Johnstone chipped the ball to safety just in front of the line.
Seconds later the Palace keeper sent a back kick deep into Everton territory where Édouard faced Mateta. The French forward stopped Branthwaite to find Ayew, who sent an emphatic drive into Pickford’s far corner from outside the box. Everton were staring at a shock defeat with Calvert-Lewin heading over another good chance from McNeil’s cross and Johnstone pushing away James Garner’s shot. However, from the resulting corner, when McNeil went in, Onana rose above the Palace goalkeeper and headed home a vital equalizer from close range.
