Everton 3 Crystal Palace 2: Calvert-Lewin grabs late winner as amazing fightback keeps Toffees up

WHO needs Hans Segers when you’ve got Dominic Calvert-Lewin?

The Goodison pin-up might have had more photo shoots than goals this season.

But in Everton’s hour of need the England striker pulled off his best Steve McQueen impression to secure his team’s Great Escape.

It was way back in 1994 that the Blues needed some seriously questionable goalkeeping from Wimbledon’s Segers to save their bacon on the final day of the season.

Just like last night, they had to fight their way back from two goals down before sparking scenes of Merseyside mayhem.

But this time they haven’t taken it all the way to the wire before ensuring that they will still be playing in the Premier League next season.

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And it was Calvert-Lewin’s magnificent flying header which finally saw them over the line against a Crystal Palace team which certainly wasn’t as accommodating as Wimbledon had been all those years ago.

It was only the striker’s fifth goal in an injury-ravaged season but it was worth its weight in goal to manager Frank Lampard and the club’s bungling board of directors.

That 85th-minute strike capped a stunning second-half comeback from an Everton team who for much of the match appeared to be heading for a first relegation since 1951.

They had never won on the previous 75 occasions that they had trailed in the Premier League by two goals at half-time.

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But Michael Keane’s 55th minute effort turned this crazy game on its head before Richarlison’s deflected shot sent Goodison into meltdown.

Yet even one point would not have been enough to guarantee Eveton’s safety and it was not until Calvert-Lewin’s 85th minute header that the party could properly get under way.

Having wasted two opportunities in a week to secure their Premier League status, Everton simply could not afford to cock it up for a third time.

But this was never going to be a gimme against a Palace team who had battered them 4-0 in the FA Cup quarter-finals less than two months ago.

Nevertheless, Eagles boss Patrick Vieira was taking no chances when he booked his team into a secret hotel location before the game.

He didn’t want his players’ pre-match nap to be disturbed by the scouse pyrotechnics which had previously kept Chelsea and Brentford awake all night.

Yet they were still forced to enter Goodison through a fog of blue smoke as thousands of anxious Evertonians thronged the surrounding streets in support of their team.

And the nerves of those inside the stadium were not helped when Richarlison’s 15th minute free-kick clipped the top of the bar.

Palace, though, were not going to be suckered into playing the game at Everton’s frantic pace and were soon dominating possession to draw the sting from the crowd.

And their patient approach paid dividends midway through the first-half when Andre Gomes was lured into a rash challenge and Eberechi Eze’s free-kick was headed in by Jean-Philippe Mateta.

It was yet another shocking piece of defending by an Everton team who have now conceded more goals than in any other Premier League season.

And as a deathly silence descended on the Gladwys Street End, it quickly began to dawn on Lampard that this could become be another night to forget.

Confirmation of those fears arrived in the 36th minute when Palace doubled their lead thanks to further comedy capers from the home team.

This time it was captain Seamus Coleman who was at fault, losing the ball to Mateta on the halfway line and unable to get back to cover when the big Frenchman crossed into the danger area.

Jordan Pickford was impeded by Vitaliy Mykolenko as he tried to punch clear and when Wilfried Zaha’s shot was only parried by the Everton keeper, Jordan Ayew was somehow able to bundle the loose ball over the line from a yard out.

To rub salt into Everton wounds, Ayew’s goal came just two minutes after he had taken out Anthony Gordon with a terrible scissor challenge which could have merited a straight red card but only drew yellow from referee Anthony Taylor.

That burning sense of injustice only intensified in first-half stoppage time when Jeffrey Schlupp went unpunished after the ball had struck his hand in the Palace penalty area.

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But all those complaints were banished by that stunning second-half comeback and the inevitable pitch invasion which greeted the final whistle.

Now it is down to Lampard and his players to make sure the mistakes of this dreadful season are not repeated in the future.

Because going through all this tension again would be too much for blue hearts to bear.

Source: Soccer - thesun.co.uk