Super Eagles star Alex Iwobi scored in the ninth minute of stoppage time to give 10-man Everton a 1-0 victory over Newcastle on Thursday that ended a four-game losing streak in the Premier League and boosted the club’s hopes of avoiding a relegation scrap.
With 14 minutes of added time due to the incursion of a protester who tied himself to a goalpost and the VAR check for Allan’s dismissal, the Nigerian finished off a quick attack with one of Everton’s most important goals of the season.
It was only Everton’s third top-flight win since September, but it now has a three-point gap to 18th-place Watford with two matches in hand.
It was also just the team’s second clean sheet since November.
For Newcastle, it was a second straight loss after an eight-game unbeaten run that saw the team build a comfortable gap to the teams around the relegation zone.
After a bright start by Everton, the visitors largely dominated possession in the first half without creating any clear-cut scoring chances.
The second half was barely five minutes old when the game was stopped after a protester wearing a “Just Stop Oil” T-shirt cable-tied himself to the goalpost at the Gwladys Street End and was only removed after half a dozen people and bolt cutters were deployed.
Allan’s red card came after Seamus Coleman’s penalty claim for a shoulder-to-shoulder challenge with Bruno Guimaraes was turned down. On the resulting counter-attack, the Brazilian hacked down Allan Saint-Maximin with a wild off-the-ground challenge.
Referee Craig Pawson was called to the pitchside monitor and overturned his yellow card to send off the midfielder.
The Super Eagles player wasn’t content to settle for a draw, though. After Everton won the ball back near the halfway line, Iwobi surged forward and exchanged passes with Dominic Calvert-Lewin before slotting a low left-footed shot into the net.