It looks like Argentine Marcelo Bielsa may not be the only luminary accorded hero status by Leeds as there’s now another person who may be granted this same status when the history of this season is written insofar as Everton is concerned as the inhabitants may pay tribute to Alex Iwobi after his 99th-minute winner took the stranglehold of relegation off the club, at least for the time being.
This could indeed rank as the singular most important goal wiewed within the context of this most troubled campaign for the Evertonians. The evening was understandably chaotic at Goodison Park with the game strewn with protests, 1970s-type tackles, red cards flashed aribitrarily, and a charged atmosphere erupting finally in cacophonious celebration.
The stakes could not have been any higher for Everton with every challenge treated like an avenue for salvation, every loose a possible shove towards the Championship league.
When midfielder Allan was flagged off for a recklessly challenging Allan Saint-Maximin, the tension escalated as Everton’s remaining 10 players clung on tenaciously for the final minutes of the match including added time.
Then came the magnificent moment when skipper Seamus Coleman poached the ball and Dominic Calvert-Lewin traded passes with Iwobi before the latter finished past Martin Dubravka.
It was oddly a tale of two cities trading places as both at different times only recently short on confidence and in fear of relegation, meandering listlessly on the pitch. Lampard’s predicament is something that Eddie Howe could easily relate to as the last time the Newcastle coach had been at Goodison he was desperately consigning Bournemouth to the Championship in 2020. And now, just a few months into his arrival at the club, a wand seems to have been waved, sparing the club from relegation.
Lampard was forced into yet another structural change as he searched for recognised defenders while seeking goals from a side which had failed to score in its previous four fixtures. His selection was also complicated by the absence of England No 1, Jordan Pickford, after a positive Covid test.
From the early stages it seemed Lampard’s plan was to unleash some form of footballing mayhem as England’s No 1, Jordan Pickford was unavailable due to a positive Covid test. The frenetic energy was obvious as Everton players hastened towards every pass, with an assortment of running patterns that all but befuddled spectators.
During his gilded career, it is hard to imagine Lampard has ever felt such an For someone like Lampard with such a gilded career, the unsophisticated style employed on the pitch was telling, but effecitve nonetheless.
The arrival of the first goal at brought with it the much-needed belief that the side can produce a miracle long overdue. With it also came some entertainment value courtesy of a protestor who fancied tying his neck to the post at the Gwladys Street end, delaying the game by seven minutes while the stewards located an industrial size bolt-cutter. It was all helter-skelter to say the least.
Iwobi certainly more than made for for Everton’s lack of goals this season with his relegation-saver, giving Lampard the precious lifeline he so badly needed in the early stages of his Goodison career.