64 2GM Friday March 18 2022 | the times
SportPremier League
Football
Premier League
Everton (0) 1 Newcastle (0) 0
Iwobi 90+9
Sent off: M Allan (Everton) 83
Europa League
Round-of-16, second leg
B Leverkusen (0) 0 Atalanta (0) 1
Boga 90+1
(Atalanta win 4-2 on agg)
RS Belgrade(1) 2 Rangers (0) 1
Ivanic 10
Ben 90+3 (pen)
Kent 56(Rangers win 4-2 on agg)
E Frankfurt(0) 1 Real Betis (0) 1
Rodríguez 120+1 (og) Iglesias 90
(aet; Eintracht Frankfurt win 3-2 on agg)
Galatasaray(1) 1 Barcelona (1) 2
Marcão 28 González 37
Aubameyang 49
(Barcelona win 2-1 on agg)
Lyons (1) 1 Porto (1) 1
Dembélé 13 Pepê 27
(Lyons win 2-1 on agg)
Monaco (0) 1 Sporting Braga (1) 1
Disasi 90 Ruiz 19
(Braga win 3-1 on agg)
West Ham (1) 2 Seville (0) 0
Soucek 39
Yarmolenko 112
(aet; West Ham win 2-1 on agg)
Europa Conference League
Round-of-16, second leg
AZ Alkmaar (2) 2 Bodo/Glimt (1) 2
Pavlidis 18, 30 Pellegrino 25
Sampsted 105
(aet; Bodo/Glimt win 4-3 on agg)
Basle (0) 1 Marseilles (0) 2
Ndoye 62 Ünder 74
Rongier 90+3
(Marseilles win 4-2 on agg)
Copenhagen (0)0PSV (2) 4
Zahavi 10, 79
Götze 38
Madueke 90+1
(PSV Eindhoven win 8-4 on agg)
Feyenoord (1) 3 Partizan (0) 1
Dessers 45, Nelson 59
Linssen 90Gomes 61
(Feyenoord win 8-3 on agg)Gent (1) 1 PAOK (1) 2
Depoitre 40 Crespo 20, Douglas 77
(PAOK Salonika win 3-1 on agg)
LASK Linz (1) 4 Slavia Prague (2) 3
Wiesinger 36, 76
Gruber 88
Schmidt 89Olayinka 24
Bah 37, Sor 62
Sent off: A Ousou (Slavia Prague) 42;
S Plavsic (Slavia Prague) 86
(Slavia Prague win 7-5 on agg)
Rennes (1) 2 Leicester (0) 1
Bourigeaud 8, Tait 76 Fofana 51
(Leicester City win 3-2 on agg)
Roma (0) 1 Vitesse (0) 1
Abraham 90 Wittek 62
(Roma win 2-1 on agg)
Cricket
Women’s World Cup, group stage
Hamilton New Zealand 228 (47.5 overs: S F M
Devine 93); South Africa 229-8 (49.3 overs: L
Wolvaardt 67, S Luus 51). South Africa (2pts)
won by two wickets.
P W L T Pts NRR
Australia 4 4 0 0 8 1.74
South Africa 4 4 0 0 8 0.22
India 4 2 2 0 4 0.63
New Zealand 5 2 3 0 4 -0.21West Indies 4 2 2 0 4 -1.23
England 4 1 3 0 2 0.35
Bangladesh 3 1 2 0 2 -0.48
Pakistan 4 0 4 0 0 -1.00
Golf
Women’s Aramco Saudi International
King Abdullah Economic City: Leading first-
rounds scores (Great Britain and Ireland
unless stated): 69 G Hall, S Witt (Ger). 70 A Yin
(US), L Weaver-Wright (US), A Nordqvist
(Swe). 71 C Noja (Ger), J Gustavsson (Swe), C
Williams, A van Dam (Neth), C Liautier (Fr). 72
K Napoleaova (Cz), B Brewerton. 73 C
Ciganda (Sp), M Simmermacher (Arg), B Law,
N Garcia (SA), L Beveridge, F Parker, H Burke,
C Chevalier (Fr), E Folch (Sp).
Rugby league
Betfred Super League Wigan Warriors 32
Castleford Tigers 22.
P W DL F A Pts
St Helens 5 5 0 0 156 28 10
Wigan 6 5 0 1141 11210
Huddersfield 5 4 0 1 150 74 8
Catalans D 5 4 0 1 94 72 8
Hull 5 3 0 2 127 107 6
Warrington 5 3 0 2 108 100 6
Hull KR 5 2 0 3 82 118 4
Salford 5 2 0 3 98 136 4Wakefield 5 1 04 74 100 2
Leeds 5 1 04 78 115 2
Castleford 6 1 0 5 115 180 2
Toulouse 50 0 5 78 159 0
Tennis
BNP Paribas Open
Indian Wells, California: Men: Fourth round
C Alcaraz Garfia (Sp) bt G Monfils (Fr) 7-5, 6-1;
C Norrie (GB) bt J Brooksby (US) 6-2, 6-4; RNadal (Sp) bt R Opelka (US) 7-6 (7-3), 7-6 (7-5);
N Kyrgios (Aus) wo J Sinner (It); M
Kecmanovic (Serbia) bt M Berrettini (It) 6-3,
6-7 (5-7), 6-4; T Fritz (US) bt A De Minaur (Aus)
3-6, 6-4, 7-6 (7-5); A Rublev (Russ) bt H
Hurkacz (Pol) 7-6 (7-5), 6-4; G Dimitrov (Bul) bt
J Isner (US) 6-3, 7-6 (8-6). Women: Quarter-
finals S Halep (Rom) bt P Martic (Cro) 6-1, 6-1;
I Swiatek (Pol) bt M Keys (US) 6-1, 6-0; P
Badosa (Sp) bt V Kudermetova (Russ) 6-3, 6-
2; M Sakkari (Gr) bt E Rybakina (Kaz) 7-5, 6-4.Football
Kick-off 7.45 unless stated
Premier League Wolves v Leeds (8.0).
Sky Bet League Two Newport County v
Hartlepool.
Cinch Scottish Championship Dunfermline
v Morton. League Two Edinburgh City v
Stranraer.
Women’s FA Cup: Quarter-final Arsenal v
Coventry (7.0).
Rugby league
Betfred Super League Catalans Dragons vHull Kingston Rovers (7.30); Salford Red
Devils v Leeds Rhinos (8.0).
Rugby union
Kick-off 7.45 unless stated
Premiership Cup: Pool one Bristol Bears v
Bath. Pool two Newcastle Falcons v Leicester
Tigers. Pool three London Irish v Harlequins.
National League One Rams v Chinnor.
League Two: South Guernsey v Bury St
Edmunds (7.30).
United Rugby Championship Blue Bulls v
Scarlets (5.10); Glasgow Warriors v
Edinburgh (7.35).Fixtures
How they stand
P W D L F A GDPts
Man City............29 22 4 3 68 18 50 70
Liverpool...........29 21 6 2 75 20 55 69
Chelsea..............28 17 8 3 57 19 38 59
Arsenal...............27 16 3 8 43 31 12 51
Man United......29 14 8 7 48 40 8 50
West Ham.........29 14 6 9 48 36 12 48
Tottenham........28 15 3 10 44 35 9 48
Wolves...............29 14 4 11 29 23 6 46
Aston Villa........28 11 3 14 41 39 2 36
Southampton.. 29 8 11 10 36 45 -9 35
Crystal Palace. 29 7 13 9 39 38 1 34
Leicester........... 26 9 6 11 40 45 -5 33
Brighton............ 29 7 12 10 26 36 -10 33
Newcastle......... 29 7 10 12 32 49 -17 31
Brentford.......... 29 8 6 15 32 45 -13 30
Leeds.................. 29 6 8 15 31 65 -34 26
Everton.............. 27 7 4 16 29 47 -18 25
Watford............. 29 6 4 19 29 55 -26 22
Burnley.............. 27 3 12 12 22 38 -16 21
Norwich............. 29 4 5 20 18 63 -45 17Everton (4-2-3-1): A Begovic 6 — S Coleman 6,
M Holgate 6, M Keane 6, B Godfrey 6 —
A Doucouré 6, Allan 6 — A Iwobi 6, A Gordon 7
(A Twonsend 90+15min), D Gray 6
(D Calvert-Lewin 76) — Richarlison 6 (A Gomes
87). Booked Richarlison, Gordon. Sent-off Allan.
Newcastle United (4-3-3): M Dubrakva 6 —
E Krafth 6 (J Manquillo 90+3), D Burn 7, F Schär
6, M Targett 6 — J Willock 6, B Guimarães 7,
Joelinton 6 — M Almirón 6 (A Saint-Maximin 71,
6), C Wood 6, R Fraser 6 (J Murphy 85). Booked
Krafth.
Referee C Pawson.Paul Joyce
Northern Football Correspondent
Iwobi proves an
unlikely saviour
to give Everton
renewed hope
Everton
Iwobi 90+9Newcastle
1
0
ate rallying cry in which he outlined
what Everton is supposed to stand for.
The home gallery also rediscovered
the throaty roar that had deserted this
famous old arena in Sunday’s dispirit-
ing 1-0 loss to Wolves, with Lampard
suggesting some of the locals had “had
a couple of pints of Guinness” on St
Patrick’s Day.
Yet, for long periods, that raucous
backdrop meant Everton were in too
much of a rush to think about exactly
how they would unhinge the visitors.
There remains a lack of quality which
must somehow be overcome between
now and the end of the campaign.
Indeed, Eddie Howe’s side enjoyed
the best of the opening half with the
most eye-catching brushstrokes
coming from January signing Bruno
Guimarães, who took responsibility
and instigated some threatening
moves.
That Newcastle did not build on their
superiority left Howe annoyed and he
described their second-half perform-
ance as “their worst in a while.”
“I wouldn’t say it was an attitude
problem,” the Newcastle manager said.
“I would say we fell off our high level of
recent performances.”
The loss of control would have been
especially infuriating given the send-
ing-off of Allan in the closing stages left
Everton fearing the worst.
Coleman was pleading for a penalty
after a challenge by Guimarães when
Newcastle sought to launch a counter-
attack through Saint-Maximin.
A burst of acceleration was crudely
halted by Allan, but a yellow card was
overturned by VAR and a red bran-
dished by the match official, to Ever-
ton’s unbridled fury. It was their 101st
red card in the Premier League, the
joint most with Arsenal.
Having received an apology from the
Professional Game Match Officials
Board for the failure to penalise Rodri
for handball in the recent defeat by
Manchester City, there is a growing
feeling in the corridors of power at Ever-
ton that they are being picked upon.
“Let’s hope the referee association
can meet and say, ‘we got that wrong’,”
Lampard said. “You shouldn’t lose a
player for three games for that.”
That lingering sense of injustice
would soon be eased as Iwobi broke
forward and delivered a final flourish
that was greeted with an outpouring
of emotions that had to be seen to
be believed.
Everton’s recovery mission is far
from complete, but, in that split-second,
optimism returned to these parts.Results
Frank Lampard had been waiting for a
turning point. That it came deep in
stoppage time, with Everton reduced to
ten men, and from the unlikely source
of Alex Iwobi will not have mattered
one jot.
That scenario merely added to the
sheer intensity of the moment, the
deafening roar inside this arena at the
final whistle likely to live so long in the
memory that it may yet spur the team’s
full recovery.
Goodison Park, febrile and ener-
gised all night, was suddenly filled
with hope — when, for much of the
evening, it felt like it had been
slowly ebbing away.
The red card received by
Brazil midfielder Allan in
the 83rd minute, after a
VAR review of his
cynical tackle on Allan
Saint-Maximin, had
left Everton out-
raged, with referee
Craig Pawson’s
popularity taking a
further hit when he
refused to give
Seamus Coleman and
Anthony Gordon
penalties.
Then the clock ticked
into the 99th minute, the
game having been pro-
longed by the bizarre sight of
a protester tying himself by
his neck to a goalpost at the
start of the second-half.
Coleman snapped into a
tackle on Saint-Maximin near
the halfway line and fed
Iwobi, who drove forward and
went around Dan Burn before
finding Dominic Calvert-
Lewin. A posse of Newcastle
players were drawn to the striker,
not long on as a substitute, but a
clever touch set up Iwo-
bi, whose low, left-foot
shot beat goalkeeper Martin
Dubravka to send players, and
supporters, into utter delirium.
Richarlison, who had been
substituted, sprinted 60 yards to
join the frenzy on the other side of
the pitch, while the aftermath of
Lampard’s reaction to the tumult
would, briefly, take the smile off
his face.
“I’ve broken my hand in the cele-
brations,” the Everton manager said.
“My bones must be going soft, I don’t
remember the moment.
“It was an amazing night and we need
those nights. Spirit and togethernessIwobi stays calm after
his coolly taken goal
secured a vital win,
unlike Lampard, who
severely hurt his
hand, above, during
the celebrationsbSTU FORSTER/GETTY— the players stood up. It was not a
night for quality or calm. I wanted to
use the atmosphere. People will
get us through this.”
There remains plenty of
work for Everton to do
before the fear of relega-
tion is banished and
looming league fixtures
include trips to West
Ham United, Burnley
and Liverpool as well as
home assignments with
Manchester United and
Leicester City.
Yet the dramatic intervention
from the much-maligned Iwobi means
they now have a three-point cushion to18th-placed Watford and a platform
from which to push on.
The concession that it was “not
a night for quality” is an inter-
esting observation, given
their next games will be
away from this seething
cauldron, and begs the
question of whether
Everton will be able to
recreate this spirit and
replicate the same
commitment.
On the eve of the game,
chairman Bill Kenwright had
driven up from London to the club’s
Finch Farm training base to deliver
what Lampard described as a passion-471
Iwobi’s winning goal last
night was Everton’s first in
471 minutes of Premier
League action. Gordon
scored their last
against Leeds on
Feb 12