Burnley 1-2 Official ReportYannick Bolasie responded to the urgings of manager Ronald Koeman to score his first goal for Everton but the Blues were left dismayed as Burnley snatched victory in stoppage time at Turf Moor.
The afternoon might have yielded an away victory had ruthlessness in the final third been allied to the domination of possession which the visitors enjoyed for much of the game, yet goals from Sam Vokes and Scott Arfield both came against the run of play to leave the Toffees frustrated.
Having been encouraged by his manager in the build-up to contribute some goals to augment his assists, Bolasie did just that with a fine cameo in the second half after Vokes had given Burnley the lead six minutes prior to the interval. There ought to have been further goals for the visiting team, too, but Burnley managed to hold Everton at bay for the most part to maintain parity before snatching victory late on.
Burnley were without Belgian midfielder Steven Defour, who injured his hamstring in his team's defeat last week at Southampton. Andre Gray was also serving the final game of his four-match ban. For Everton, Ross Barkley and Kevin Mirallas returned to the starting line-up, in place of Tom Cleverley and Gerard Deulofeu, and it was the Toffees who made by far the more assertive start.
Bolasie strode purposely through the midfield in the opening minute and into the Burnley penalty area where his scuffed shot fortuitously yielded a gilt-edged opening within a minute of kick-off for Mirallas, who fired his close-range shot low but too close to Tom Heaton in the Clarets’ goal. Everton earned a corner kick but Romelu Lukaku was left looking at his Belgian international teammate and asking him why he had not left the opportunity to him on the edge of the six-yard box.
Bolasie's effort at an overhead from just inside the penalty area was ambitious in the extreme and veered wide but the initiative was with the visitors. A corner kick for Burnley, which was half-cleared towards Ben Mee who shot over from less than 10 yards, failed to seize the impetus for the home team. A long-range shot by Lukaku could only be parried away by Heaton and the Burnley goalkeeper had to be sharp to repeat the feat from a powerful shot by Barkley, in his 150th Everton appearance, from the left side of the penalty area.
Burnley's resolve and defensive organisation in the face of Everton's stronghold on possession emphasised precisely why all of their points coming into this game had been secured at home. If Sean Dyche's promoted team can stay in the Premier League for another season, it will be their form at Turf Moor that will be pivotal. Dean Marney epitomised the spirit within their side when he pounced on an opening for Mirallas to block his shot and avert the danger again.
Bryan Oviedo measured a perfect pass from the left into the area for Lukaku whose first touch allowed Mee to make a necessary challenge as Everton were denied again from testing Heaton. Everton's dominance was reflected in almost 70 per cent possession stats more than half an hour in and, in a rare moment of danger, Oviedo headed the ball strongly away from Johann Berg Gudmundsson from a cross from the left by Michael Kightly.
Then, from nowhere, Burnley stole the lead. Arfield was allowed far too much space to stroll through the midfield and his shot from range was parried by Maarten Stekelenburg but only into the path of Vokes whose stealth and poacher's instinct gave the hosts an incredible shot in the arm. For the visitors, it was a slap in the face, especially given how strong had been Everton's grip on the game. But failure to convert this into opportunities created and converted proved costly.
Spurned momentum continued to be the order of the day in the second half when Idrissa Gana Gueye steered play to his left for Mirallas who had time and space but elected to cross the ball early for Lukaku, alas with too much purchase to find his fellow Belgian thundering in at the back post. Then Bolasie took the initiative and swung the balance with a perfect finish.
Gana broke up play in the middle and it looked like Lukaku would take the ball forward into the final third of the pitch. But Bolasie almost knocked the big man over in his eagerness to seize the moment, Lukaku's off-the-ball running gave Stephen Ward something more than Bolaise to think about and the former Palace man struck his shot perfectly past Heaton into the far corner of the Burnley net. The 2,430 Everton fans behind the goal voiced a visceral roar of relief as much as rejoicing. This was Everton's opportunity to assert themselves completely.
Only a last-ditch, desperate intervention by Keane prevented Coleman, in his 200th Everton start, from combining with Lukaku for what would have been a simple tap-in at the back post by the Belgian striker. Bolasie whipped in a cross towards the back post which Mirallas headed down but Heaton cleaned up with no one combining for the winger in an Everton shirt.
The sense, however, was that another goal was coming for the Toffees. Only a good save underneath his crossbar by Heaton from another probing Bolasie cross denied Lukaku from converting with his head at the back post. Deulofeu came on for Mirallas and put in a cross from the right which was cleared as far as Coleman on the edge of the penalty area. The Republic of Ireland skipper's shot was blocked, ricocheted into the path of Lukaku and then the ball was gone again before the striker could apply the coup de grace.
A powerful, long-range effort by Bolaise was tipped over his bar by a scrambling Heaton at the expense of another corner. Everton continued to pile on the pressure but Burnley's defence held firm. Cleverley replaced Gana as the clock ticked down and then it was despair in the end as Arfield scored the winning goal.
Gudmundsson's 90th-minute strike from the edge of the box came flying back off the crossbar and the Canada international was fortuitously placed to strike the rebound into the back of the net.
The Toffees remained sixth in the table at the final whistle and will now dust themselves down for a home clash against West Ham on 30 October.
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