Gomes stunner sees off wasteful Palace
FIVE managers, two charges for breaching financial rules and 1,603 days later, Everton finally ended a four-year wait to score from a free-kick.
At most points in this rather drab tie, across two matches, it felt like it would take a similar number of days for either team to score a goal.
But after 90 minutes in south London and half a game on Merseyside, a touch of class from Andre Gomes finally brought a spark to this snoozefest to give Everton their first win of 2024 and send Sean Dyche’s men into a fourth-round meeting with relegation rivals Luton.
Even die-hard Evertonians might struggle to recall their last free-kick goal, a sweet strike from Lucas Digne at Lincoln’s Sincil Bank in August 2019. But Gomes provided a worthy — if overdue — sequel here.
That moment topped off a stellar display from the once-forgotten-man Gomes, who scored his second goal in a month after going almost two years without one before that. He was slick in possession, constantly popped up in dangerous half-spaces and a willing runner off the ball.
Everton came into this match with a sense of injustice, again, after the club were charged with breaching Premier League financial rules for a second time on Monday. Sean Dyche’s team selection underlined his respect for the FA Cup, with Everton fielding their strongest possible XI of those fit. Roy Hodgson and Crystal Palace did the same, in fairness, and it meant the game was an evenly-matched battle.
Sadly for neutrals, though, that evenly-matched battle meant this replay started as the original tie finished — a case of two decent defensive units cancelling out two misfiring attacks. Until Gomes’ fantastic opener just before halftime, the game lacked quality.
The goalless reverse at Selhurst Park conjured up just one talking point and that was the daft decision to send off Dominic CalvertLewin for a clean tackle. He would have been banned for this replay but the red card was rescinded on appeal.
And Calvert-Lewin was the player who came the closest on several occasions in the first half, the out-of-form striker forcing a decent save from Sam Johnstone at his near post after 13 minutes.
In a tight game with little quarter given at either end, it felt like one of those matches where a penalty or set-piece would be the only route to a goal. And so it proved, with Gomes unleashing a powerful free-kick from around 25 yards out that bounced in off the post.
The foul was given for a nasty, out-of-control lunge from Palace’s Jefferson Lerma on Gomes — a far worse tackle than CalvertLewin’s red card in the reverse game but punished correctly with a yellow here. Gomes stepped up and fired a perfect free-kick past Johnstone.
Palace threatened slightly at the other end but seemed to lack any decisiveness in the final third, though Eberechi Eze showed his class with several tidy dances through the Everton midfield. Tyrick Mitchell also saw a shot well stopped by stand-in keeper Joao Virginia.
Odsonne Edouard came close for Palace but Portuguese keeper Virginia, 24, made a top save to deny him. That gave the away fans something to shout about, who had barely been heard other than when they booed the decision to substitute Eze.
The game burst into life in stoppage time, with Virginia making three huge saves to deny Jean Philippe Mateta, and Johnstone doing likewise at the other end as Lewis Dobbin nearly scored.
It was 180 minutes that won’t live long in the memory, but Everton got the job done.
EVERTON (4-2-3-1): VIRGINIA 8; Patterson 6.5, Tarkowski 6, Branthwaite 7, Mykolenko 7; Garner 6.5, Onana 6; Harrison 7, Gomes 7.5 (Dobbin 77), McNeil 6; Calvert-Lewin 6 (Beto 86). Scorer: Gomes 42. Booked: Harrison, Virginia, Calvert-Lewin. Manager: Sean Dyche 7. CRYSTAL PALACE (5-4-1): Johnstone 7; Clyne 6 (Ahamada 64, 6), Richards 5, Andersen 7, Guehi 6, Mitchell 6 (Riedewald 64, 6); Schlupp 5, Lerma 6.5 (Ozoh 71, 6), Hughes 6, Eze 7 (Franca 64, 6); Edouard 5 (Mateta 71, 6). Booked: Lerma, Andersen. Manager: Roy Hodgson 5. Referee: Tony Harrington 6. Attendance: 37,796.