Niasse: Fans Gave Me Confidence To ScoreOumar Niasse says the warm reception he received from Evertonians at Goodison Park on Wednesday gave him the confidence to grab his first ever goal for the Club.
Having been included in a Blues squad for the first time since May 2016 for the Carabao Cup visit of Sunderland, Niasse’s name was greeted with a vociferous cheer before the match - a reaction that was repeated when he stepped off the bench to replace two-goal Dominic Calvert-Lewin with 66 minutes played.
The striker then expertly took down a lofted 83rd-minute Tom Davies pass on his chest before firing past goalkeeper Jason Steele to complete a 3-0 victory in front of a delighted Howard Kendall Gwladys Street End.
It halted a frustrating wait for a first Everton goal for the Senegal international, who moved to Merseyside in February 2016 having netted 16 times in 34 games for previous club Lokomotiv Moscow.
And, in an exclusive interview with The Everton Show, Niasse said: “The fans made me feel very good, honestly. They made me feel like the confidence was coming back and I was thinking I want to give back to them because of what they are giving to me.
“They gave me a great feeling when I went to warm up. I said to myself, ‘the only thing I can do is to try to put the ball in the net’. That was a special moment that they gave to me.
“It [the goal] was something I was waiting for and I think also they were waiting for that - for me to give them a goal. Like I said, it was a great feeling and very important for me.
“It has made me feel more confident, it has made me feel that my teammates are more confident and also the fans are going to have more confidence in me.
“That’s good for Everton, for the team now and I think the best thing is to keep that and work hard all together, all the squad, the players, all together to try to bring the team back [on track], because we can do it.”
Last season, Niasse scored five goals in 19 games on loan at Hull City and, despite his lack of playing time at Goodison, says he has always retained belief he can prove a valuable asset for the Blues.
“In life, everything can happen,” he said. “That is what I am saying, always. Sometimes you think everything is going against you but it’s just the way that God chooses, the way that God gives to you. You have to live with that and be the nicest person you can be, work hard, be a professional and, even if you’re Under-18, Under-23 or with the first team, you have to work hard. That’s what I think is the best thing to do.
“It was a long wait to get that first goal but it’s a goal in the cup against Sunderland, a team from the Championship, so it was an important one, but the more important thing is that I have to keep working and look for the Premier League goals.
“We will see what happens there after but it is always good to have a goal, especially when the team wins - and we needed that win to bring the confidence back.”
Ronald Koeman said in his press conference on Thursday that Niasse could be involved in the squad that welcomes Bournemouth to Goodison on Saturday and the 27-year-old is hopeful the Blues can build on their convincing display against the Black Cats.
Everton have suffered three straight Premier League defeats against Chelsea, Tottenham Hotspur and Manchester United but have never lost a home game against the Cherries, who only recorded their first points of the campaign against Brighton and Hove Albion last weekend.
Following the visit of Bournemouth, Apollon Limassol head to Goodison in the Europa League next Thursday before another home league game against Burnley prior to the October international break.
And Niasse added: “We needed that win [against Sunderland]. We’re going to have three games in a row at Goodison now and the fans especially were very good on Wednesday.
“I think the next three games we need to take nine points because it’s at Goodison and it’s our home. We can be confident.”
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