Dwight McNeil’s double downs Crystal Palace and ends Everton’s wait for a win
The Toffees were 2-1 home winners in the Premier League.
Dwight McNeil’s two goals secured Everton’s first win of the season after a rare comeback as they beat Crystal Palace 2-1 at Goodison Park.
Not since October 2022 had the team recovered from going behind to pick up three Premier League points and after twice squandering 2-0 leads to lose in the last month it was a relief for manager Sean Dyche to experience the other side.
Trailing to Marc Guehi’s early goal the game swung in the space of nine minutes at the start of the second half.
Just 77 seconds after the restart McNeil curled home from 25 yards after Ashley Young intercepted a pass deep in Palace territory before firing past Dean Henderson after bringing down a cross from half-time substitute Jack Harrison.
It ensured a week which had begun with positive off-field news as the Friedkin Group agreed a deal to buy out majority shareholder Farhad Moshiri ended with an important success on the pitch.
No representatives from the prospective new owners were present at Goodison to take an early look at their potential investment and, in truth, the performance was not one Dyche will be including in his showreel as he seeks to extend his contract beyond the summer.
But in an encounter between two of the Premier League’s winless teams only the outcome was important.
Dyche’s counterpart Oliver Glasner, who finished last season with six wins and a draw, is still trying to rediscover that magic formula after just three draws this season and he must be wondering how his side let the game slip.
The return of Jarrad Branthwaite was not quite the panacea Dyche and Toffees fans hoped it would be as it was another England centre-back who caught the eye early on as Guehi, a summer target for Newcastle after a good Euro 2024, opened the scoring just 10 minutes in and was a commanding presence in the Eagles’ back three.
Branthwaite’s first start of the season was supposed to help shore up a defence which was the Premier League’s joint-worst before kick-off.
He won his first header from the kick-off against the equally-giant figure of Jean-Philippe Mateta but even his presence could not stop the concession of a 10th-minute goal as the search for a first clean sheet continued.
Jesper Lindstrom, who was so poor at both ends of the pitch he was replaced at half-time, failed to clear a Palace short corner despite reaching it first and Adam Wharton was able to recycle the ball to the far post.
Max Lacroix outjumped Abdoulaye Doucoure and central defensive partner Guehi poked past Pickford from close range.
It gave the visitors a platform to dominate for the rest of the half as their 3-4-2-1 formation – with Eberechi Eze and Eddie Nketiah as twin number 10s – created a box midfield which stifled Everton every time they tried to play their way out of trouble.
Dominic Calvert-Lewin saw a header blocked close to the line in a scramble from a corner and then missed a low, near-post cross from McNeil, who also had a weak header drift wide.
James Tarkowski’s robust challenge on Mateta in the penalty area, while winning the ball, was a sign of the hosts’ growing frustration and it was fortunate it did not have more serious repercussions for both him and his opponent.
Harrison’s introduction for the second half helped spark the turnaround as McNeil took centre-stage, scoring twice in a game for the first time since May 2023, and this time there was no late capitulation.
