Everton vs Bournemouth. Premier League.
Goodison ParkAttendance38,133.
Saturday 23 September 2017 19:07, UK
Substitute Oumar Niasse scored twice as Everton came from behind to beat Bournemouth 2-1 and end a run of three straight defeats in the Premier League.
Twelve months ago, the Senegal international - who moved to Goodison Park in January 2016 - was without a squad number, banished from the first-team dressing room and playing for the U23s after manager Ronald Koeman decided on the basis of a 45-minute pre-season friendly appearance he was not up to the task.
But with Everton's failure to sign an adequate replacement for Romelu Lukaku in the summer, Koeman recalled the striker and he followed up a first goal for the club in the Carabao Cup in midweek with a quickfire double (77, 82) to cancel out Josh King's opener (49) and rescue all three points for the hosts.
Victory relieves the pressure on Everton boss Koeman as his side move out of the relegation places and up to 13th, while Bournemouth stay 19th.
Dominic Calvert-Lewin was the hero for Everton in their midweek cup win over Sunderland and he almost made an early breakthrough, heading Leighton Baines' cross inches wide of the far post.
Everton enjoyed the majority of the possession during the opening 45 minutes but struggled to create any clear-cut openings, while Bournemouth failed to muster any sort of threat of their own.
The one real flash point of the first half came in the 34th minute when Rooney was caught by a stray arm after challenging for the ball with Francis in the Bournemouth penalty area. Blood poured from the eye of the former England captain, who appeared adamant he was elbowed, but referee Martin Atkinson waved away the appeals.
If the opening 45 minutes lacked quality, then Bournemouth put that right immediately after the restart with a clinical counter-attack which saw King skip past the challenge of Mason Holgate, before firing a low shot from the edge of the penalty area past the dive of Jordan Pickford and into the back of the net.
Shortly afterwards, Jermain Defoe should have doubled the visitors' lead but England U21 goalkeeper Jordan Pickford crucially saved with his foot to keep his side in the game.
Everton responded by bringing on Tom Davies and Niasse to replace Davy Klaassen and Rooney and they almost grabbed an equaliser in the 70th minute when Holagte's header was hooked brilliantly off the line by Andrew Surman.
Koemen's men were level seven minutes later and it was the substitutes that combined with a Davies pass to release Niasse, and the striker smashed the ball emphatically past Begovic.
The turnaround was complete in the 82nd minute when Davies' shot was deflected to the far post and Niasse was on hand to tap the ball home from close range to cap a remarkable about-turn in the fortunes of the 27-year-old.
Dominic Calvert-Lewin led the line brilliantly for Everton, putting in another promising display but it's Oumar Niasse, who grabbed all the headlines.
The striker seemed surplus to requirements in the summer following last season's loan spell at Hull City but he was named in an Everton squad for the first time since May 11, 2016 in midweek, coming on to score in the 3-0 win over Sunderland in the League Cup.
And against Bournemouth, with Everton starring down the barrel of a fourth straight league defeat for the first time since January, 2015, Koeman turned to the 27-year-old again - and he delivered again.
Latching onto Tom Davies pass, Niasse finished emphatically before being in the right place at the right time to cap a dream week with the winner as Everton came from behind to secure all three points.
Everton are next in action in the Europa League when they host Cypriot side Apollon Limassol on Thursday at Goodison Park. Their next engagement in the Premier League is on Sunday October 1 at home to Burnley.
Bournemouth are next in action in the Premier League next Saturday against Leicester City at the Vitality Stadium.
