Unsworth rides luck as Niasse ‘dive’ risks FA two-match ban
TIME will tell if David Unsworth proves to be a good manager. But on this evidence he certainly seems to be a lucky one.
The Everton caretaker boss will watch this game back and scratch his head at how his team left with a point. Not that he’ll mind, of course.
Unsworth should be grateful for a soft penalty decision and a theatrical fall by Oumar Niasse — who nearly joined Palace in the summer — which could land the striker in trouble with the FA.
Similarly, a comical mix-up between goalkeeper Julian Speroni and defender Scott Dann coupled with some poor Palace finishing were just as key for Everton as they left Selhurst Park with a point.
Even Unsworth couldn’t deny his team led a charmed life, saying: ‘We’ll take anything we can at the moment.
‘Did Niasse dive? It was a long way away. It looked like there was contact from where I was stood.
‘Oumar will always take on an opportunity. If it was a soft penalty, it was a soft penalty.’
As candidates for the post as full-time Everton manager drop like flies, Unsworth can be safe in the knowledge that, at the very least, the players are grafting for him.
Whether that’s enough to land him the job on a permanent basis is a question that will be answered soon.
Palace’s recently appointed manager, Roy Hodgson, contrastingly, was left to dwell on what might have been.
Again there were sprouts of improvement. Regardless, the Eagles remain rooted to the bottom of the Premier League.
Palace have won just once under Hodgson since his appointment in September — that euphoric win over champions Chelsea. This draw took the Palace manager’s points tally to five.
Draws are not enough for Palace — certainly not in games where three points are there for the taking.
‘There’s no point sitting here saying we played well and deserved better,’ a visibly frustrated Hodgson said. ‘You get what you get. It’s two points lost, not thrown away.’
Palace took the lead inside 50 seconds, James McArthur tapping home from close range after Jordan Pickford could only parry England team-mate Ruben Loftus-Cheek’s effort.
Their lead lasted just six minutes, however, Leighton Baines scoring from the spot after Niasse threw himself to the floor following a shoulder-to-shoulder challenge with Dann. Niasse will discover tomorrow whether the incident is referred to the FA’s retrospective diving panel.
Zaha tapped home Joel Ward’s cross in the 38th minute to restore Palace’s lead. Pickford will agonise over his failure to get a hand to Ward’s cross; indeed his contribution to both Palace goals was a far cry from his excellent England debut against Germany eight days prior.
But Everton levelled in first-half injury time, Niasse pouncing on a mix-up between Speroni and Dann.
Christian Benteke, making his first appearance in two months following a knee injury, missed a glorious chance in the 80th minute as Everton somehow escaped with a point.