Hajduk Split 1-1 Everton (agg 1-3)
Gylfi Sigurdsson launched his Everton career in spectacular fashion by scoring the goal that ultimately sealed the Blues’ Europa League progress on a crackling night in Split.
Hajduk led the second-leg tie courtesy of Josip Radosevic’s ferocious, deflected 30-yard strike shortly before half-time, when Sigurdsson dispatched an outrageous 50-yard volley beyond goalkeeper Dante Stipica 12 seconds after the break.
The hosts’ hopes of overturning their aggregate two-goal deficit were reignited when Ashley Williams fouled Ante Erceg in the box with 25 minutes to play.
The brilliant Jordan Pickford saved Ahmed Said’s penalty, however, and Everton’s passage into Friday’s group stage draw was effectively confirmed.
Muhamed Besic, making his first competitive Everton start in 16 months, skewed a volley wide inside the opening 60 seconds of a frantic contest – the Bosnian’s shooting opportunity arising after Sigurdsson’s corner was only partially punched clear by Stipica.
The whistles that accompanied Sigurdsson as he struck the dead ball pierced the stifling air inside this bouncing stadium.
That was nothing compared to the noise generated by Hajduk’s cacophonous fans when, soon after, Erceg tumbled over the advancing Pickford.
The Blues, on this occasion, had reason to be grateful for an alert Russian linesman who had spied Erceg drifting offside as he broke into the box.
It was the referee’s turn to hold his nerve when Savvas Gentsoglou tried to make hay after Hamza Barry’s optimistic strike looped up off Michael Keane and squirted into Everton’s penalty area.
Former Bari player Gentsoglou went over under the presence of Sigurdsson but found there was nothing doing when he tuned his eyes expectantly in the official’s direction.
Nonetheless, the Blues, at this stage, were stuck in the trenches, pinned back in their own half by a home side desperate to make quick inroads into their first-leg deficit.
The fact was emphasised by the amount of work Besic waded through during the opening exchanges, the ex-Ferencvaros man in turn shuttling forward to harass opponents and dropping to block off the space in which Hajduk’s quick-witted attacking trio of Erceg, Said and Nikola Vlasic were busily trying to wreak havoc.
Besic’s fellow holding midfielder Morgan Schneiderlin was similarly industrious, with the end result being a paucity of genuine scoring opportunities for the hosts, territorial domination regardless.
Indeed, Erceg escaping Cuco Martina to drag a shot across goal and wide was the best of it for Hajduk during their high-intensity start, while, at the midway point of the first half, Barry took aim from 25 yards and fired wastefully high of Pickford’s goal.
Between times, Everton had served notice of their ability, when they clicked into gear, to slice through the Croats.
Wayne Rooney collected Ademola Lookman’s pass, moved the ball on to Martina and – a la Stoke City a fortnight ago – made a beeline for the box.
He got there in time, too, meeting Martina’s delivery but was unable to direct his headed effort on target.
Sigurdsson sent a 25th-minute volley screaming past Split goalkeeper Stipica’s left upright after reacting first to a limp defensive clearance.
Two minutes later, though, it was a pair of Evertonians holding an inquest; Williams and Leighton Baines swapping notes on how Erceg had snuck between the pair of them to meet Zoran Nizic’s left-wing delivery with a header that travelled narrowly wide.
Keane, Schneiderlin and Sigurdsson all mucked in to alleviate a bout of Hajduk pressure just past the half-hour. Indeed, but for a last-ditch defensive interception Rooney would have sent Dominic Calvert-Lewin racing in on goal as Everton countered.
To the 38th minute. Pickford had hitherto been a spectator. Now it was the goalkeeper’s turn under the spotlight.
Gentsoglou crossed from the right, Said missed his impudent attempt at an overhead kick and the ball landed with the unmarked Erceg at the back post. His stabbed effort forced Pickford to drop sharply to his left to shovel the ball to safety.
There wasn’t a whole lot the Everton number one could do when Radosevic let fly two minutes before half-time, however.
There seemed little danger when Said squared the ball to the midfielder. Given the time to pick up his head and shoot, though, the Croatia international unleashed a shot that deflected off the closing Baines and finished its journey underneath Pickford’s bar.
If the Stadion Poljud had a roof, it would have been parted from its frame.
The party continued deep into the half-time break.
But 12 seconds after the restart, the atmosphere was punctured entirely – save for the din created by the travelling Evertonians celebrating gleefully in their pocket of the ground.
Sigurdsson channelled all his footballing intuition, vision and ability and deployed the lot in one extremely special moment.
Borja Lopez realised he lapsed when he lazily let the ball run away from him. But what was the worst that could happen?
Enter Sigurdsson, who, aware of Stipica having drifted a few yards from his line and undeterred by his own position wide on the right and 50 yards from goal, stretched and caught hold of a shot that dumfounded the Split keeper and travelled into the roof of the net.
Sixty seconds later Aaron Lennon – on at the break for Lookman – darted down the right and crossed for Rooney who stooped to connect but steered his header past the far post.
Perhaps that let-off jolted Hajduk from their daze.
Erceg’s penalty-box blast was blocked by Martina, before Williams put his body in the way of a strike from the marauding Vlasic.
Radosevic was wayward when he tried to repeat his first-half deed before, at the other end, Sigurdsson couldn’t pick out Calvert-Lewin in the six-yard box after racing onto Besic’s chip over the top of Split’s high defensive line.
Still the Croats would not go away. And Hajduk had a chance to get one of the three goals they required to keep the tie alive when Williams was outfoxed by Erceg in the box and tripped the slippery attacker.
Five Hajduk players converged for an animated discussion about who would take the resulting penalty.
Said got the vote – but not the plaudits. They went to Pickford, who dived low to his right to push away the Italian’s effort.
That failure from 12 yards did nothing to damage Said’s stock with the locals, however, judging by the jeers that greeted his withdrawal by manager Joan Carillo with 15 minutes remaining.
By that time Calvert-Lewin had been denied one-on-one by Stipica… and replaced by Tom Davies.
Erceg was denied another penalty late on when he fell eccentrically over Keane’s challenge. Keane then consummately switched defence into attack, winning the ball on the edge of his own box before striding forward to pick out Rooney with a forward ball.
Rooney’s shot across Stipica was beaten away by the goalkeeper.
But, by now, this amounted to the minor details.
The top line was Everton had survived a stern test of their European credentials and can ready themselves for a meaningful continental campaign.
Everton FC