Everton added another horror to their list of dreadful journeys to Bournemouth, snatching defeat from the jaws of a fortunate draw.
The manner of this loss, which extended the Blues’ winless Premier League streak to a joint-club record 12 games and elicited cries of ‘going down’ from the home crowd, is the clearest illustration of the misery that has overshadowed their season.
Everton entered stoppage time after a goalkeeping gaffe by Neto gifted the away side with a rare slice of luck in what has become another arduous season.
Even so, they were unable to capitalize, falling to a late defeat due to a disastrous mix-up at the back. However, this 2-1 loss was more than just bad luck. It begs fundamental questions about how a team in desperate need of a boost will find the will to avoid another fight to the death.
This is a club so accustomed to bad luck that it took 90 seconds for the away end to explode in celebration when Beto finished into an empty net after Neto spilled an innocuous cross onto the head of his center back, Chris Mepham. Everyone paused, expecting some official somewhere to find an excuse to deny the goal. They didn’t because they couldn’t, and Everton found themselves on the verge of a vital point after a stifled response to Dominic Solanke’s 64th-minute goal. The forward, who met the ball after sliding between James Tarkowski and Ben Godfrey to head in from close range, had sent the Cherries on their way to a win that would confirm their mid-table status.
The goal broke the deadlock in a contest between two evenly matched teams. The hosts had looked the most dangerous, with Antoine Semenyo forcing Jordan Pickford into an early save before spending the next 90 minutes looking like the one man who could make the difference. Everton, too, had spells, the best of which featured Dominic Calvert-Lewin’s thunderous shot that forced Neto to make a fantastic save.
Bournemouth, on the other hand, carried greater threat, and while their opener was not unavoidable, Everton provided a tepid response after the hosts took the lead, despite Dyche turning to his bench. But then came Neto’s error and Beto’s finish, and a team devoid of ideas was given a chance. Instead, the home team sprung into action and sought a victory. They found it in the midst of pandemonium, with Adam Smith crossing between Everton’s back line and Pickford. Coleman misread the bounce and watched in horror as the ball ricocheted over the line.
It was bad luck for Coleman, the club captain who had returned from a long hiatus to try to push his beloved side into another late-season fight. His presence aided this team, but anything that touches Royal Blue now appears bound for disaster.