After 23 games without a goal, Dominic Calvert-Lewin was a picture of calm as he fired home an 88th-minute penalty that could be crucial to Everton’s hopes of Premier League survival.
The England striker stepped off the bench in the second half at St James’ Park with his relegation-fighting team trailing 1-0 to a dominant Newcastle.
With Nottingham Forest on its way to a 3-1 win against Fulham, Everton desperately needed something to stay ahead of the Midlands club, which is also in a battle to avoid the drop.
Calvert-Lewin's last goal was on Oct. 29 against West Ham — but, with the pressure on and time running down, he was willing to take responsibility from the spot and salvaged a 1-1 draw that kept 16th-place Everton one point ahead of Forest in 17th.
“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 said.
Even after Calvert-Lewin’s rescue act, Everton is still without a league win in 2024.
It is four points clear of Luton in 18th, but having already been handed a six-point deduction this season for breaching the league's financial rules, it could face more punishment for further breaches.
All Dyche can do is to concentrate on turning things around on the field.
“This job wasn’t a walk in the park when I got it and it is still not,” he said. “There is a long way to go, but there are a lot of steps we are making in the right direction.”
The form book might suggest otherwise, with Everton's winless run in the league extending to 13 games, but it is.
The draw hardly helped Newcastle either after the home team had looked set to boost its hopes of securing European soccer next season when Alexander Isak struck in the 15th.
It was the Sweden international's 19th goal of the season and came after he showed quick feet in the box before sweeping a low shot past Jordan Pickford.
Everton defender James Tarkowski inadvertently hit his own crossbar with an attempted clearance in the second half and VAR denied Newcastle a second goal through Dan Burn for offside before Everton's leveler.
Again VAR intervened by inviting referee Tony Harrington to review footage of substitute Paul Dummett hauling Ashley Young to the ground.
The official duly pointed to the spot and Calvert-Lewin did the rest.
“It was a decent performance, but we needed a second goal. We were on the end of two tight decisions,” Newcastle manager Eddie Howe said. “Bar that penalty we go on to win that game. It would have been a tight win but a deserved one."
Relegation rivals
Nottingham Forest moved three points clear of the drop zone with the win over Fulham.
Callum Hudson-Odoi, Chris Wood and Morgan Gibbs-White fired Forest into a 3-0 halftime lead. Tosin Adarabioyo pulled one back for Fulham after the break.
Second from bottom Burnley is unbeaten in four after a 1-1 draw with Wolverhampton but Forest's win saw it slip six points adrift of safety.
Crystal Palace could still be dragged into a survival fight after a 1-0 loss to Bournemouth extended its winless run to four games.
Justin Kluivert scored the only goal of the game in the 79th to move Bournemouth up to 11th.
Palace is on 30 points — eight clear of the relegation zone.
A big enough win could have seen Tottenham move ahead of fourth-place Aston Villa in the race for Champions League qualification, but Ange Postecoglou's team was held 1-1 at West Ham.
Brennan Johnson opened the scoring in the fifth minute for Tottenham at London Stadium. But the visitors couldn’t hold onto their lead, with Kurt Zouma equalizing for West Ham in the 19th.
West Ham had a golden chance to take all three points when Michail Antonio was through on goal in the second half, but could not beat goalkeeper Guglielmo Vicario.
