Everton 1-0 Burnley
by James Nalton
at Goodison Park

FOR a team in Everton’s predicament, it doesn’t matter how the goals and the wins arrive — only that they do.

One followed the other against Burnley at Goodison Park on Saturday, as a second goal in as many games from Dominic Calvert-Lewin was enough to secure their first Premier League win since December.

That win came 15 games ago, also against Burnley, and Sean Dyche did everything he could to make sure they got back on track in this game.

“We looked at how well we’d played this season and not won, so we deliberately tried to play long and strong and make the game as awkward and as ugly as possible, and it worked,” Dyche said.

It is one of football’s contradictions that Everton feel they have regularly played well and not won so instead tried to play ugly on purpose, and came away with a win.

Neither team were good in this game, and as the first half dragged on, it was difficult to see where any quality would emerge from on either side.

An opening goal looked beyond the capabilities of both sets of players.

Andre Gomes was neat and tidy in midfield for Everton, and Jarrad Branthwaite put in another impressive defensive display, but the game was low on attacking quality.

It was apt, therefore, that the only goal in this contest came from a defensive error caused by a striker, Calvert-Lewin, closing down a goalkeeper, Arijanet Muric, who dallied on the ball and saw his clearance deflect into the net off the Everton man.

Calvert-Lewin had scored a penalty in the previous game against Newcastle, and these were his first goals since a strike against West Ham in October.

Dyche has commented previously that his centre-forward needs a goal or two to go in off him no matter how awkward or unorthodox.

The game-winner here certainly wasn’t a standard, clean goal. It was effectively a tackle that found the net, but Calvert-Lewin and his manager will take them however they come.

Burnley had Dara O’Shea sent off for a last-man challenge on Dwight McNeil midway through the second half, but there were still some nervy moments for the home side even with the man advantage as the score remained at 1-0.

Everton fans whistled so loudly at the end of added time to encourage referee Michael Oliver to end the game that the final whistle itself could not be heard.

But as the linesmen ran onto the pitch it became clear the game was over and Everton had secured a priceless three points.

Those points had not come about in the most convincing or conventional manner, but Everton won’t mind, just as Calvert-Lewin won’t mind how his goals arrive.