Everton saved by unsung hero Frank Lampard ruthlessly banished from training
From the outside, it looked as though Abdoulaye Doucoure was a poster boy for the mediocrity that had taken a grip of Goodison Park.
Ostracised from first team training by Frank Lampard, word was that Doucoure was not fit enough and had an attitude that left a lot to be desired, had ideas his ability could not cash in. Those sorts of things do not go down well with any fanbase, least of all Everton's, who know their team normally has to make up for in application what it lacks in accomplishment.
But perhaps Doucoure just did not get on with Lampard, perhaps he is actually a poster boy for Frank's struggles as a manager. Because with Lampard long gone and Sean Dyche saving Everton, Doucoure now has a place in Goodison folklore. Doucoure has scored five times for Dyche and has scored one of the most important goals in the club’s long history.
And to put the gloss on its importance, his second half hit was as sweet a strike the Mali international has probably ever produced. It was also a well-earned reward, Doucoure being the outstanding player of a febrile, if ordinary, contest. For half an hour, the crowd did everything they could to lift a side clearly struggling with its nerves.
But when news of a Leicester breakthrough filtered through, it is fair to say the atmosphere dipped some way below the feverish level. And it would have been even more subdued had Marcos Senesi not screwed a half-decent chance comfortably wide of Jordan Pickford's right-hand post or if Yerry Mina had not made a fantastic block when Dominic Solanke looked certain to score just before half-time.
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Abdoulaye Doucoure scored the goal which kept Everton in the Premier League (Naomi Baker/Getty Images)While it might have been beach weather, Bournemouth were, to Gary O'Neil’s credit, not quite in their deckchairs. They might, understandably, not have had the urgency of the home side but they had, also understandably, the greater composure.
Everton’s desperation, though, was always likely to cause some disturbance and Demarai Gary should have gone some way to calming nerves but instead aimed a headed sitter straight at Mark Travers. But then, out of the royal blue atmosphere, came a status-saving rocket, Adam Smith’s clearing header falling to Doucoure, who returned it past Travers before the Bournemouth keeper could blink.
Relieved Everton fans invaded the pitch after the final whistle (Jan Kruger/Getty Images)Commendably, Bournemouth did everything they could to help Leicester and Jordan Pickford had to beat away a nicely-struck added time effort from Matias Vina. The England keeper might have made it look more spectacular than it needed to be but it was still a moment that ensured he and Everton will be playing Premier League football next season.
That was all that mattered for a group of fans who have lost all faith with an owner, Farhad Moshiri, who promised so much when he took over and invested his or someone else’s millions. And all that mattered in the dying stages of ten extra minutes was for Everton players to put their bodies on the line.
That is exactly what they did. Cue the celebrations, cue the blue smoke, cue the pitch invasion, cue the calls for the board to be sacked. The board will not be welcomed back, that is for sure. But thanks to Doucoure, at least they have still got a Premier League club to leave to someone else.
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